Prayer to the Angels
by Himdall
Summary: "Great Seraphs, please... Protect Mummy and Daddy from the Desians... Please, protect them so they can come back from the Human Ranch..." What would have happened if Colette's journey had been different? Let imagine that some of the game's characters had never met and that some had. In that case, would the Age of Half-Elves become a reality? Slight AU with all characters.
1. What happens to the Heretics - Prologue

Hello!

Oh I'm so nervous! It's my very first Tales of Symphonia fanfiction and I hope I will be able to make it entertaining but moreover, it's also my first fanfiction written in English. As I am accepted in a London school for a month, I though it would be good for my English to be practiced (as a consequence, if there are grammar or spelling mistakes I would really appreciate to let me know!)

« A god is only a god if he is loved as much as he is feared.» That quote from my Law Philosophy teacher can be very interesting if it is applied to the Religion of Martel. Indeed, if the Goddess can be seen as the « soft» side of the cult, perhaps the Seraphs can be considered as vengeful Angels (and so its «holier-than-thou» side).

Note: I assume that Spiritua's journey had taken place 1000 years before Colette's one and that a Chosen one borns every 200 years. It's an arbitrary choice but I see Mana as a natural resource which can't disappear / reappear overnight. It takes time. Example: Spiritua ascends the Tower of Salvation as an Angel thereby saves Sylvarant. Mana goes back to this world. Crops take 25 years to become abundant. When agriculture is assured, business expands for 50 - 70 years. Then, comes a time (mostly 95 years) of economical, scientific development and societal changes. 15 years before the Chosen's birth, Mana starts becoming unstable. Its fluctuations grow and become intense when the Journey begins (as the other Chosen's Journey begins).

Note 2: 27/08/2016: I decided to rewrite the first chapter to make it a bit clearer. My English has improved a bit since I began this fanfiction (A BIT ^^ I said...)

See you soon! :D

* * *

All the children were sitting at their place. They were all expecting their professor to come at any minute now.

"Where's your sister, Genis?" asked a brown haired little boy dressed with red clothes to another one with silver hair. The youngest shook his head. "I don't know, Lloyd. She was getting ready for the class..."

The boy named Lloyd shruged and started playing with his pencils. His eyes came to his other friend, a little girl with mesmerizing blue eyes who was reading a book. "What are you reading, Colette?"

The ten-year-old girl blinked several times. "It's about the fall of the Sylvarant Monarchy... As we are going to study it today, I thought it would be better if I read something about it... It's very important for me to know exactly how the Desians managed to make our last king abdicate. After all, his abdication is also the beginning of their oppression" she added with a faint smile.

Lloyd blinked as he wanted to say something else but the Genis'sister just arrived into the classroom. The young boy yawned deeply as he rolled his brown eyes.

 _History lessons really were the worst..._

O.O.O.O

six hundred years ago

Another deafening noise could be heard throughout Sylvarant's capital. While he was walking straight to the King's castle, a young man dressed with a green cotton shirt and some black trousers stopped and looked up to the cathedral. He frowned. Stained-glass windows had exploded due to the shock of the magical attacks and now, black smoke was escaping from the damages. Those bastards! They dared! They dared attacking the religious place in which the Goddess was worshipped.

In rage he started running again but in direction of the church. When he finally arrived in front of the religious building, he felt something brushing his hair. He raised his head and the « thing» in question was a fire bomb which was exploding the walls. Those hybrid beings were using their powers to attack the Capital of the Sylvarant's Dynasty. The screams of the people blocked into the church made the young man react. He had to do something to help them. To do so, he made his way through the bits and pieces and through the dark smoke. He managed to clear the entry of the tiles which had fallen due to the raid. Immediately he could feel this thick smoke hampered his airways. While he was coughing, some children escaped due to the opening he had created. Those kids ran away in the devastate street, hoping to find a safe place to hide from this nightmare. Although he wanted to go back to the castle, he heard some screams which made him rushed into the cathedral. The more he was sinking into the building, drier the air was getting. He could feel his clothes sticking to his body. The temperature of the place was coming higher and higher due to a fire in the nave. The flames were devastating the luxurious tapestries representing the Hero and the Goddess, and the golden altar. The closer he was getting to the confessional, clearer the voice which was seeking for help became. Despise the smoke, he could see a familiar silhouette, laying on the floor, squeezed by a statue which had fallen during the attack. He ran to help the victim.

« Dorriant, is it you?» She whispered, closing her green eyes to protect them from the dust which was falling everywhere.

« Hold on Laureline! Don't worry! I'm here to rescue you!» He said pushing with all his strength the pieces of white marble on which she was trapped.

«My legs! I can't feel them anymore!»

He stopped for a while, trying to catch his breath. He stared at her. Knowing he was not strong enough to save his friend alone, he ran outside seeking for help. He could feel his heart pulsing strongly as he didn't have much time to save her, the fire was growing even more important. The young man crossed several streets before meeting a member of the Royal Guard. With his help, he could move the statue a little which enabled her to crawl on the floor. They had to hurry! The fire had now spread to the nave and was getting closer to them. Without delicacy, the guard grasped her in his arms, put her on his shoulders and started running outside. When they arrived in a safe place in a corner of a street, they laid her down on the cobblestones where she could regain consciousness. Dorriant stood on his feet, anxiously watching her injuries. As far as he could see, her legs seemed to be broken into thousands pieces. Her body was trembling.

« What happened? » She finally asked with an unusually deep voice, showing how much smoke she had inhaled.

The young man wanted to tell her the truth but he didn't have the time because at the same time, some new fire bombs had been thrown against others houses. He cursed, then went back on the road to the castle. All his way was full of pitfalls because of the destruction of the capital. While he was climbing the steps of the Palace's entry, he looked back and saw thick dark smoke raising upon the inhabitants' houses. He frowned. He could easily guess that the business and the working-class areas have been destroyed by the flames. He could only hope that the citizens had been able to run to the harbor where they could be safe from the blaze. Roughly he opened the castle's heavy doors and ran through several rooms, before stepping into a large one in which his father was sitting at a wood table, looking desperate.

«Father! Luin's and Izoold's emissaries were right!»

The old man didn't move. He stayed in his chair, seemingly under the shock of the situation. Worried, Dorriant came closer and saw some maps thrown on the table. His eyes gazed at one of them, examining each details of that particular paper. It depicted his father's whole country - well, what the country used to be before the conquest had begun - Five red pointers were drawn across all Sylvarant's grasslands, pointing at Palmacosta. In barely one month Triet and Asgard - the biggest towns of the realm - had been taken by their enemies. The only important city left was the capital: Palmacosta. For how long? The Desians' troupes were besieging the town. It would be over soon... The young man ran his hand over his face, terrified by the alarming situation... He stayed silent for a moment, deep in his thoughts, when another man came in. He was a blond minister, wearing a long white chasuble embroidered with golden wires. He was holding a heavy gold crozier in his left hand and a little red and green book in the other hand. Its cover was so luxurious cover that it reflected the small ray of light that shone in the room. Dorriant heard the clothes sliding softly on the parquet floor and looked up at the newcomer with a dubious expression. Indeed, the young man disliked him, the Archbishop of Palmacosta. He disliked how the withe of his chasuble made his skin even paler than usual, he disliked how this whiteness was highlighting his piercing reddish little eyes, moreover, he disliked how his skinny and long figure completed this haughty aura of his. This minister really bugged Dorriant out, but for some reasons, his father didn't mind and so, stood up straight and looked at him with anxiety.

« The cathedral is now a ruin, my dear Dorrist. How could it resist the Demons' attacks without the prayers, without the faith of its followers?» The cleric told the monarch while his son was staring at him with distrust. He didn't like seeing him hovering around his father like a bird of prey around a small animal, ready to dive on it at any time. Suddenly aware of Dorrian's distrusting eyes on him, the Archbishop walked over and faced him.

« Demons are attracted by sins...» He hissed at the Prince. The young man's face muscles tensed up. In his eyes, the priest was absolutely not afflicted by the attacks. He always thought that this man was only seeking for power and wealth, without care of his people's souls. A monarchy by divine rights governed the realm of Sylvarant and as a consequence, the only not hereditary influent position was the Archbishop of the capital. When this man had been appointed at the apex of the Church of Martel, Religion had already begun to lose all its influence. The realm was becoming more and more secular. His predecessors had tried to maintain the faith within the people's heart by praising some values like sharing, brotherhood... The new Archbishop had another way to make sure that Religion would continue to rule the kingdom and would keep its influence on its inhabitants's minds: in each of his preaches, he swore that the people who were not good believers would be imprisoned and burnt at the stake for heresy.

«Demons with four faces, I suppose». The young man said mockingly.

The Archbishop raised an eyebrow. He was getting irritated by this spoiled little noble. His fingers were patting on the book he had in his hand. «The Seraphs have a deeply kindness. Their hearts are full of goodness. They have tried to protect your and your heretic people! But you went too far, finally you were out of lines, and so, they had to punish you, to punish for your sins...»

The old ruler nodded and watched at the cleric with desperate eyes. He begged for forgiveness, he begged the Seraphs to spare his people's life. He was the only one to blame for the secularization of the country. The minister looked at him and then, hit the table with an energetic fist, he craned his head to be so close of the monarch's old face that only a few millimeters were separating them. His reddish apples were staring at hers.

«You deserve your punishment! Cruxis let those monsters destroy everything because of you, because you and your people became heretic! The Seraphs' strength is diminished if Humans stop believing in Religion of Martel!»

The monarch whined like a scared little animal. If only he hadn't had listened to his first councilor Niss! He shouldn't had passed all those laws allowing freedom of cult, of expression... They had encouraged people's sins. If he hadn't, the people would have continue to go to church and to obey to Religion's rules, and so the Seraphs wouldn't be so upset.

«Cruxis is your friend. Its kindness is limitless. But, a friendship implies two parties and reciprocity. If your friend feels attacked, despised, ignored, he would not help you when you are attacked. Do you understand my little metaphor? Cruxis wanted to help you and your people but the secularization of society - highlighted by all you laws - is upsetting it. If you replace Religion in society's heart, I'm sure the Angeles would be pleased and so would help you fighting those monsters.»

The old king nodded again, meekly. He would do what the cleric said. He would bring his people back into the straight line, he would bring faith back into his people's heart. At any cost!

«If your people become again true believers and follow Cruxis's dogmas then, I'm sure the Angels would bless them and protect them!»

Dorriant was watching this discussion, doubtfully. He had supported those laws recognizing individual freedoms, he had helped Niss convincing his father when he was reluctant to pass bills into laws. The young man never really believed in this sleepy Goddess, or in this scarified Hero or in those Angeles. Indeed, there was no need to believe in such Religion: the country had had an abundance of mana, no wars, no starvation... From what Humans needed to be protected? He always thought Mithos's story to be a myth and Cruxis's threats about the Desians to be superstitions. «Eat your diner otherwise, the Grand Cardinal will come to catch you!» His nanny used to tell him when he was a little boy. How could he take seriously this cult when each part of it seemed so crazy? For instance, the Tower of Salvation! It was supposed to be the highest tower ever! So high that it linked Earth to the Heavens! And so, according to the Church, this tower just disappeared in one night, two centuries after Spiritua had succeeded her journey... Seriously?! It was so absurd! Dorriant could not believe that, and he was not the only one to be skeptical about that fairy tale! That was exactly why the people didn't follow Cruxis's instructions anymore... Of course there was a lack of mana but the young man would have never thought that was connected to the Religion of Martel. He would have supposed that mana was a natural resources and so was not inexhaustible. Gosh!

«The issue is no longer to know who was right or wrong, Archbishop! We need to focus on finding a way to repel our enemies! They are already in the town!»

O.O.O.O

«And so, around six hundred years ago, the Kingdom's capital was attacked by the Desians and therefore, the monarch abducted. His abdication ended the Monarchy of Sylvarant. Last week, we saw that the Palmacosta Dynasty was almost the longest of our history - except the Asgard Dynasty which lasted as long as a thousand years, Cleo III is even mentioned into the records of the Ancient War - Lloyd! Stop eating Genis's cakes! I'm talking about a very important subject right now! Listen! Have you understood why the downfall of the Sylvarant Monarchy is so important in our history?»

The class stayed silent for a while, staring at its teacher who continued to walk across the room. All the pupils were captivated by her lesson, waiting her to pursue her explanations. Well, not all of them were captivated, indeed, a little brown boy, dressed in a red shirt and a black trousers, was still enjoying his meal, eating all the cakes of his friend. Raine sighed loudly. Her steel-blue eyes glared at the blond ten-year-old girl seated next to the glutton.

«Really? No-one has an idea? You do remember that you have a test in two days - Well I hope you do! - The Desians' domination started at this moment. After King Dorrist's abduction there was no opposition left and therefore, the Desians could easily take control of our world. Do you remember the name of the Desian Grand Cardinals?»

No noise could be heard in the classroom. The silence was heavy. The teacher could feel the eyes of her twenty pupils staring at her with anxiety. Evoking those Desian leaders was enough to scare the children to death. They were monsters... The kids thought that avoiding to speak about them would save them and their families from their cruelty, from the Ranches. They didn't really know what they did to Human in those places but they were aware of their dangerousness. Being imprisoned there meant dying. A blond little boy, seated next to a window, rose up his green eyes and glared at the dark smoke full of ashes that escaped from one of the Ranch's big chimneys. His mother had told him that people imprisoned there were joining the Angels after so time left. A shiny soft voice woke him up, leaving his thoughts.

«Ma-Magn...Maggot? At Palmacosta?» Said a seven-year-old boy.

Giggles in the class. The very young pupil didn't exactly understand why his classmates were laughing so loudly. He seemed confused. His mistake, at least, had relaxed the atmosphere and so, others names were given by the pupils.

«No, _Magnius_ , Forcystus, Kvar and Rodyle. They are called the Desian Grand Cardinals with reference to the four corners of the earth. This shows that they control every land of our country...» She stopped her explanation when she saw the little hand of a young boy.

«Ma'am, do you know what they do to their prisoners in the Ranches?»

The teacher coughed for a while. She didn't know what to answer - she didn't even know if she had to answer that question - She passed one of her hands into her short silver hair, sighing.

«It's really difficult for me to answer your question, Paul, but I personally think that you deserve to know what the Ranches are about. Hum...» She stopped for a moment, searching her words. «Actually, we do not know exactly what their aim is, we just know they use a lot of mana and that, heir prisoners are killed... A very few of them escaped. Remember that they are damned creatures because they kill Humans who are the Goddess's sons. They sacrifice life to their own profit and that is why they have to be sealed away...»

Nobody dared make a noise. Raine felt ill-at-ease. Maybe she had told too much about the truth, maybe they should not know the Desians' aim... They were kids, they were young... She could see how much they were afraid. Suddenly, a small ginger spoke with a strong voice, looking at another blond ten-year-old girl. «Colette will remove the Desians from Sylvarant! She will free us from those damned Half-Elves! Colette will become an Angel!»

Colette smiled, accepting her duty. She knew perfectly well that she was unique, special. She was the Chosen one, the only one who could sooth the pain and the suffering of the people of Sylvarant. The villagers would always make amazing festivities to celebrate each of her birthdays. She grinned, feeling bitter. They were not celebrating her birth but the time left before she had to begin her journey. They were waiting for her to transform into an Angel. One week ago, she even heard one of her friend's mother saying to another «six more years to wait before the Day of Prophecy!» Yes, she knew her role very well... She could feel a knot in her throat, her eyes getting moister and moister. When she felt some eyes looking at her, she raised her head and had an open smile drawn on her lips. Lloyd always could cheer her up!

Because all the children were staring at Colette, nobody saw the teacher getting more and more nervous. Although she usually was confident, always standing up proudly; at this right moment she was almost bent over her desk. Suddenly, she raised up.

«When Colette becomes an Angel, the Desians will be sealed away... And Half-Elves... You do know that Genis and I are different from them, do you.» She gasped.

«Yes, you are different from them because you are not from the same race, you are Elves... Your blood is pure.» Said another child with a soft voice, gazing at her.

The teacher could do nothing but nod silently. She waited until the pupils could concentrate again before continuing the lesson. She clapped into her hands to make them focus.

«This event is also very interesting because it shows the real nature of Cruxis. It's a holy organization which can be seen as the armed wing of the Goddess Martel. Its role is to ensure that the people follow the dogmas of the Church of Martel. As we saw, during King Dorrian's reign, the process of secularization could have upset the Angels and especially the Seraphs, therefore they didn't protect us from the Desians. That's why we always have to obey the Church of Martel, because if we don't, they would abandon us to the Desians' fury... Lloyd! Please, listen carefully!»

O.O.O.O

The bells rang out from the bell tower around 3 P.M, ending the day of class. All the kids ran out, yelling at each other, eating their little snacks. Some of them stayed in front of the small wood building, playing joyfully. Lloyd wanted to join his friends when he would have finished his - well Genis's- snack. But, unfortunately, he could hear his teacher's voice asking him to stay for a moment. He sighed. He didn't like that because he already had been scolded for not paying enough attention in class, or for disrupting the lesson... It was not his fault: class was so boring!

«Lloyd, how much are 7 x 6?"

"A certain number, Miss!»

Lloyd was a franc little boy, always answering quickly without hesitations. She rolled her clear eyes as a sign of despair.

«You don't know your multiplication tables even though you're eleven! All your classmates do! And...»

The child looked down while he was still playing with his brownish straps. They were so pretty! The prettiest straps ever! He could easily see his father making them for him, working all night to finish them in time. He was the greatest father ever! Even if he «was not his real father» as some of his classmates had told him, Lloyd loved him so much! He loved him as much as apple pies! At this right moment, he was surely making a cake for him! Yummy! He could have stayed lost in his thoughts if a younger boy had not come in a hurry into the class.

«Raine, please! Don't punish Lloyd! He sucks but I'll help him!"

"Yes! Please, Miss! Please!» Added the sweet Colette, arriving behind the little boy.

Lloyd smiled.

O.O.O.O

The little boy sighed when he heard another deafening noise. Since he came back home, he was often disturbed by such noises. « Raine is a huge disaster!» He thought. He left the bedroom he shared with his older sister and went to the kitchen with a blasé expression on his cute face.

«Everything is dirty now, Raine!»

He started laughing when the young woman turned back to him. She had left the cauldron on the fire for too long, the soup had boiled and had escaped, splashing the walls and even her cheeks. She really seemed unamused! She felt so much frustration! Why did this happen? She had followed the recipe! Gosh!

Letting his sister to her anger, Genis rode up the dark wood working plan, opened a cupboard and, full of excitement, tried his best to catch up a glass jar full of - delicious - cookies. Feeling his sibling glaring at him, the little boy stopped his action.

«Please... Raine... Cookies...» He whispered pitifully, being as adorable as he could.

Raine looked at him, doubtfully. She frowned. Her steel-bleu eyes were scrutinizing the little boy. After a moment of silence, she finally sighed again and let it go. «Go wash your hands first!»

He smiled from hear to hear and jumped on the floor. He won over her! He finally could escape to this horrible «healthy eating» for once! Thanks Martel! He wouldn't eat those disgusting vegetables but those delicious cookies! So delicious! «Maybe the Holy Ground of Kharlan is full of sweets and cookies!» He thought «if that so, the Seraphs are so lucky! Cookies for breakfast, cookies for lunch, cookies for diner!» He salivated jealously.

«Thank you Raine! You're the best!» He smiled to her.

Raine rolled her eyes. Despite being a genius, her brother was still a little six-year-old boy and therefore, he had the needs and the desires of every boy of his age. She sometimes had to let it go. She couldn't punish him all the time, right? She hesitated. If only someone was here to help her, was here to give her advice about how raising him... Right now a chill went through her body. Loneliness...

Her only move was to return the only mirror of the house. It was a small rustic one, hanged at one of the beams in the kitchen. «I hate mirrors...» She murmured in a sad voice. She stayed there, close to it for a while, enjoying the silence of the room.

«Raine?» Asked her little brother in a soft whisper. He had waited for her and then, had decided to bring her back to their bedroom. Kindly, he took her hand into his and kissed it. Since he was a toddler, he had seen her returning mirrors when she was angry or upset. Once, when they were still in Palmacosta, he had heard her crying in her bed, murmuring through her tears that she «didn't want to see her again». He had hugged her and had asked her who this person was, «nothing more than a memory...» she had said.

«Do you want some milk with your cookies?» He asked her softly.

While watching at him, she smiled and nodded. «Go put your pyjama on, little boy! I'll bring the cups!»

When they were sitting on Raine's bed, wrapped up in some blankets, cuddling each other. They talked about everything, sharing their impressions about some events, sharing their hopes and their fears. Gently, motherly, Raine kissed Genis's forehead.

«Genis, do you want to talk about Lloyd? When I was about to punish him, you immediately, proposed to help him with his homework. Since when do you try to be nice with your classmates?»

The little boy rolled his big blue eyes, playing with a strand of hair nervously. He knew what she had in mind.

«You would never have done that at Palmacosta.» She added.

Genis coughed, ill-at-ease. Raine took him in her arms, cuddling him. She knew she had touched a sensitive issue. When she was studied at Palmacosta Academy, waiting to obtain some certificates and so to become a teacher, Genis was schooled into the elementary school of the Academy. If his teachers were amazed by his cleverness - which they related to his race due to an old adage boasting Elves' wisdom and intelligence - the others pupils focused on his difference and decided to exclude him from their games... As a consequence, when one of them needed some help, Genis would ignore him without any regret.

«It's not the same situation, Raine» He explained, searching his words. «Lloyd always eats my snacks, copies my answers, falls asleep on my shoulder during your class... But, Lloyd is great! And Colette too! They are different too..."

"Genis, it's not because someone is «different» that they'll be kind to you or will understand the way your feel.» She rectified, patting his little nose. «Someone will understand you because this person is your friend. Try to play with a Grand Cardinal and you'll see that I'm right!

"The Desians... They are Half-Elves too... Does it mean that our blood is cursed? That Colette will seal us aways when she becomes an Angel?»

She stared at him, silently, without knowing what to answer. She searched her words carefully. «Genis, we are different from Humans because of our blood. But we are also different from the Desians by our actions.»

O.O.O.O

«Colette? Where are you, Colette?»

It was dark by the time a blond man was looking for his daughter into their own house. The place was lightened by some candles. He had already checked every where! She was not in her bedroom, she was not in the bathroom, she was not in the living room... She seemed to have vanished. Her father sighed, staying immobile for a while. Suddenly, he remembered where she used to go when she was sad. In a rush, he went outside, in the garden which was behind the house. He looked up at the very large tree and so, saw her sitting on one of its branches. With much patience, he could join her and site next to her, cuddling her carefully.

«My sweet Colette, why are you here?»

She didn't move, gazing at the green leaves. When she finally raised her head to look at him, he could see how sad she was, her big blue eyes being full of tears. «Daddy, is it wrong to not want to die?» She asked in a soft voice.

Franck looked at her. He didn't know what to answer. The only thing he could do was to hug her into his arms. He could feel her heart pounding.

«I don't want to become an Angel, Daddy... Does it mean that I'm selfish? Is it wrong?» She murmured against his torso.

The man couldn't do anything but to caress her hair. He could feel a knot in his throat. He felt so powerless... Someone had decided to sacrifice his own daughter and he could do nothing but accept it and make it easier for her. If only he could do something... He couldn't even protect his little girl from her fate.

«Will I forget everything about you, about grandma, about Lloyd when I'm dead? Will I just disappear?»

Franck stayed silent, searching for his words but also trying to contain his anger and his despair. «When you're dead, your soul will continue to live in the new world. Every single tree, every little flower will be linked to you. I will see you in the garden's roses, Grandma will hear your soft voice into the wind and Lloyd... I guess he will remember you and your beautiful hair each time he sees some plantations of wheat...»


	2. Light of the Oracle

Hello!

Writing in English is so hard! I'm so scared of doing mistakes and so, the English's grammar is driving me crazy. The more I write, the less confident I feel…

In this chapter, I have two quotes from two different sources: the first one is a verse of a French song sung by Melissa Mars (I don't even know its title). I've discovered it while I was revising my courses for a final. I think it matches with Colette. I'm convinced that if she is Zelos's opposite as she deeply wants to fulfill her duty and to become an Angel to save the people of Sylvarant, this doesn't mean that she doesn't feel any despair or anger. And I think she hides those feelings behind a gentle smile like Zelos hides his true feelings by acting with an exuberant behavior. Of course, it's just my interpretation.

The second quote is from Victor Hugo's poem _Souvenir de la nuit du 4_ ( _Memory of the Night of the Fourth)_ which relates the death of a kid during a riot against Napoleon III. The narrator, with a lot of tragical irony, explains to the deceased child's grandmother why his death was needed to keep Napoleon III's welfare.

/Souvenir-De-La-Nuit-Du-4-%28Memory-Of-The-Night-Of-The-4th%29

Here is a link to a translation of the poem if you are interested.

Ahh Kratos… I really hope that writing would help me with this character. I don't know why but I really can't stand him. Each of his action makes my hairs rising. I just want to come and slap him in the face, screaming « MAN, stop your bullshits! »

I would like to thank Fowl68 for her help! And also Nolandsman! You are amazing! Speaking with you in English makes me improve a lot! xxx

* * *

 _«_ _Alors j_ _'_ _aurai mal en silence_

 _[So, I will suffer in silence]_

 _Et je crierai sans faire de bruit_

 _[I will even scream without any noise]_

 _Il faut qu_ _'_ _j_ _'_ _rie, il faut qu_ _'_ _je danse_

 _[I must laugh, I must dance]_

 _Je ne voudrais pas que ma douleur s_ _'_ _ennuie_ _…»_

 _[I would not want my pain to be bored_ _…_ _]_

«Be the good girl you always have to be» she told herself. She would never have shown them anything else but a gentle smile. This smile was stuck to her face like a charming mask. She felt like an empty doll as she walked through the crowd. The people made sure to not hurt her, to not rush her fragile little body. She was so precious... She wished she could have screamed at them, she wished she could have run far away, she wished she could have told them. Her smile was a fake one, only here to hide her emptiness. When she was in front of the school's door, she sighed. She could feel a knot into her throat. Breathing became difficult. She couldn't feel the air into her lungs anymore. She was suffocating. She closed her eyes. She had to control herself. She blew and came into the class.

«Hello everyone!»

Her voice was cheerful, almost perky; her big blue eyes were enlightened with joy and her cheeks turned slightly pink. She was perfect. Her entry in class had the same effect as the one of an actor on the stage. All her classmates came to her, surrounding her like wolves with a prey. The blond girl started feeling ill-at-ease. She knew what they wanted. They wanted her to become the Chosen, to receive the Prophecy and ... They wanted her to die. She stood on tip of her toes, looking for someone.

«Where was he?» she thought. She needed him so much, especially during those hard times. She started thinking that he had had abandoned her. He was the first - and only one - to have loved her for herself. To have loved her not for being the Chosen, not for being the Daughter of Angels but for being Colette. She would never have dared to ask him to escort her into the Temple of Martel. But, she knew that if he was not there in the Temple, she would probably fall apart, she would never be able to face the Angel. When she heard a bark, she came back to reality. She examined the window and, saw a shadow. Relief. She enlightened her cute face with a gentle smile. He was there.

«Did you see that Genis?! We are not even late!»

She could hear him walking through the corridors. With an energetic strength, a tall young man opened the door. She wanted to come to him but didn't, being afraid of embarrassing him. She stayed at her desk, smiling to him. Maybe he had guessed her intentions. She though for a moment that his cheeks had become slightly pink. She gazed at him, at every of his movements, scrutinizing every detail of his face from his brown eyes to his brown hair's cowlicks but moreover, she studied how he was with his classmates. She was in awe of him. He was so strong, so hopeful, full of zest for life. Discreetly, she closed her hand firmly.

«I'll be strong too Lloyd! I'll be as strong as you are!» she swore to herself.

O.O.O.O

Pain, suffering, burden, exhaustion, hunger, fear, blood... death.

All those words could have described her life since the attack on Palmacosta. In a few seconds, she had been separated from her family, from her granddaughter, and had been brought to the Ranch. Her husband and herself used to breed cows into Palmacosta's countryside, and now, she could say that she knew how those animals felt. The Desians treated them like animals. Hands tied, head down, bending over the whiplashes, that was the hell of their transfer from the original Ranch to the one where they would be exploited until their death.

When their jailers seemed occupied, she dared standing her old carcass against the cold dark wall of the enclosure. Resting, just for a little while, just for a few minutes. Her heavy eyelids wanted to offer her some rest. She couldn't sleep during the nigh. Her cell was, indeed, too cold to do so despite the prisoners coming together to get warmer. On one hand, this promiscuity protected them from freezing but, on the other hand, it brought infections. Savoring this moment of peace, she coughed. She was wondering how many time she would be able to endure all this suffering. This small ball they had put on her hand, Martel, made her suffer even more. And this hunger, ô Martel this hunger was always with her, all day long, from the morning to the evening. The Desians gave them some soup for lunch and diner with some small « rations ». Martel, that was so insufficient, Martel this soup was fully made of water, Martel this soup was awful… It didn't give them any strength, any proteins, any vitamins…

She opened one of her tired eye and turned her head to pose her wilted cheek on the wall. From this place, she could see the dense stretches of the Iselia's forest through the barbed wires. People had told her that Iselia was a really nice village, full of joy and flowers…. It was a shame that a Human Ranch was built so close to it. Suddenly, she could feel a lenient wind on her face, caressing her cheeks. She breathed. Ô Martel, ô Great Seraphs, thank you, thank you so much for this soft breeze. For just a little moment, she felt being at home at Palmacosta with a lovely granddaughter, far away from this nightmare.

A scream awaked the old lady from her dream. A poor teenage girl had trip while pushing her massive bloc of black stone, and therefore, had drawing attention of the soldiers who started beating her. « Poor child » thought the oldest while she focused again on the landscapes, taking advantage of this new moment of peace… She could be in peace only because this little girl was whipped. Full of guiltiness, she closed her tired eyes once again. However, hearing a noise, she quickly had to open them. Someone was getting closer. Was this person a Desian? The prisoner doubted it, the steps was too silent for the Desians' boots and moreover, they came from outside the Ranch. Very discreetly, she moved in order to come closer to the barbed wires.

« It's for you! » murmured a soft voice.

The old woman stood face to face with a little boy with silver hair and big - unusually - blue eyes. She blinked. Was he Human? Was he a Half-Elf? Was he an Elf? She couldn't tell. He was holding through the barbed wires, a rice cake as if he was encouraging her to take it. But those eyes… Those blue eyes so clear, so similar to her jailers' ones. Was he a Desian? Was that a trap? She looked at him, diving her tired sloes into the child's regard and was surprised to not see any ounce of malice but instead some concern and some kindness. And so, with a steep hand she took the cake and crunched it as strong as her old teeth were able to do so. She even had some crumbs around her lips, but didn't really care! She was enjoying the taste of the pastry. But soon, she had to take them off, no one should no that she had eaten.

« It was my snack… I hope it wasn't awful… I had to keep it into my pocket during the class… »

She looked at him. Awful he said… It seemed that this boy never had eaten the Desians' soup.

« I must thank you for your snack, » she finally was able to murmur.

He smiled.

« Why are you here little boy? Be careful otherwise they will catch you too! »

He seemed reluctant, focusing on the floor before gazing at her for a moment. Was she aware of his true nature? It didn't seem to. When he was at Palmacosta, he thought that his classmates were not able to notice his real race because they were too young, but actually, Raine was right about their resemblance with Elves - or at least, having no resemblance with Half-Elves.

« I was at my friend Lloyd's house! In the forest! » he sputtered pointing in the direction of Dirk's house. « I come from Iselia, my sister is the teacher of the village! »

While listening at his paroles, the woman felt sick. His words had reminded her the stories her granddaughter used to tell her when she came back from school. « Martel, ô Martel, that hurts » she thought. She missed her so much! While the little boy was speaking about his life in the village, she had the feeling that sword of Damocles that the Desians were hanging upon her head, had disappeared. She looked quickly at the guards who were still beating that poor girl. She passed her hand through the barbed wires and gently caressed his forehead. `

« Go back home, my sweet little boy! »

He nodded but suddenly frowned and said « Genis! My name is Genis! »

There was a moment of silence. The prisoner felt as the letters and the sounds of his name were ringing into her head. For the first time in weeks she had heard a name, letters, and not a number. His name sounded so beautiful to her hears.

« And yours? What's your name? »

She smiled, her eyes being enlightened with gratitude « Marble. »

O.O.O.O

Her old, exhausted legs couldn't bear her weight anymore and so, she slowly fell into the corner of her jail. She had been working all day long and needed to rest. She held against her painful body a patched dirty blanket and started comforting a blond teenager who were crying since she had arrived into the jail.

« They slaughtered her!» she murmured through her tears. « They beat her until her bones got broken. There was so much blood! The more she screamed, the more they hit her… » No one of the others prisoners dared moving or making any noise. Suddenly, she broke down in tears. « Why? Why? Why are they so cruel? What did we do to them? What did Marguerite do to them to deserve that death?! »

« They are nothing more but monsters, my child » an elderly woman responded. « Their nature is evil and so, they obey it and martyrize Humans - the Goddess's sons. That is why they are devil and can't have any sort of redemption. »

Marble caressed the dirty blond hair of the teenage girl who continued to mourn the death of her friend. The old lady tried to conform her by telling her that soon enough, the Chosen, the daughter of Angels, would also become an Angel and by doing this, would regenerate Sylvarant's lands and would seal away the Desians for at least two centuries.

« And so, I will be able to come back to my family again! My mum and my brother need my help for the inn! » she whispered with a pale smile on her wet face, her eyes being fuddled with both tears and senseless hope. « Thank to the Chose-one we will go back home! »

Marble passed a hand into her filthy grayish hair. Seeing her family, her beloved granddaughter again that was the foolish hope that kept her in live. Suddenly, she started thinking about this little boy she had met this afternoon. He had been so kind to her, he had been so adorable when she had caressed his forehead. A lovely little child. She straightened her head and gazed at the security camera which was placed at the angle of the corridor. It was slowly turning from left to right. Her heart started to pulse strongly and a knot appeared into her throat. She hoped that the Desians had not noticed him, if it was the case, only Martel knew what they would be able to do to this poor child.

« Ô Goddess Martel, have mercy! Ô Great Seraphs, please, protect them, make sure that neither Chocolat or Genis would ever be imprisoned here! »

O.O.O.O

The night's fresh air pinched his cheeks. The teenage boy shuddered. He was laying on his house's roof and therefore, seemed lost among the trees of the forest. His brown eyes were focusing on the celestial sphere. He seemed to be looking for the brightest star. He could feel a knot into his throat. He didn't really remember since when he used to contemplate the stars. Maybe his genitor had taught him to do so? He didn't know. He felt his eyes becoming damp and so, turned his head to fix his mother's tomb. She was the one who stayed with him, she was the one who fell from the cliff with him into her arms. He had survived the fall, she had not. But what about _him?_ What about this genitor? Where was he? Had he just slept with her and then vanished? Had he wanted a son? Lloyd couldn't tell… All those questions were always in his mind when he looked at the nigh sky.

Angrily, the young man passed his forearm on his moist eyes. « Blood ties are nothing! The only thing that matters is the ties of love! » he told to himself. Why was he interested by the fate of a coward who had abandoned them? Lloyd knew that someone loved him deeply enough to sacrifice his own life to make him happy and this person was his real father. Dirk had raised him, had fed him, had taught him a lot of things and even more, he had loved him! That was why he didn't need a genitor in his life, he already had a father! But he couldn't understand why he had to think about all those things now.

Since he was a little boy, he had taken the habit to come and speak to the stars when something important was going to happen in his life. Talking to the stars as if they could calm his pain, his anxiety. As far as he remembered, he always thought to be different from the others kids of the village. He was the only orphan in Iselia, he was the only one who lived outside the village, he was the only one to be raised by a « different being, » he was the only one to not be raised into the dogmas of the Church of Martel - his father believed more into the sayings of his own race - Damn! Luckily Raine and Genis had decided to live here! With them, he had not felt alone anymore. And Colette! Oh, his lovely Colette! She was so kind, so devoted! Lloyd knew that his friend would succeed on her task! And he would be by her sides! Tomorrow the Prophecy happens and Colette will go on her journey and she won't be alone, he swore.

O.O.O.O

In a dark room a man walked slowly to be sure he wouldn't awake the young blond woman who was sleeping into a wooden bed. He sat on the bed, he rose the white blanket upon the delicate body of his daughter. He seemed to be appeased to see her asleep and caressed her soft cheek. Ô Martel, thank you, he thought, thank you to spare me from seeing her eyes while telling her farewell. He kissed her forehead and on the top of her little noise - as if she was a little girl - The knot into his throat grew even more. Tomorrow Colette is going to become the Chosen. By that, he will loose his daughter, his baby. Tomorrow Colette will belong to the World, to the Angels. Tomorrow will be the beginning of the end. Thinking about that made the poor man cry.

« You are going to wake up her! »

Another person came into the bedroom but stood near the door. Franck didn't move, he knew that his mother would come to check if Colette was fine. Finally, the old lady walked through the room to the bed and sat near him. Thank to the candle she was holding, he could see her eyes gazing at him with comprehension and seriousness.

« She needs to sleep, Franck. Tomorrow is the great day! »

He turned his head brutally and watched her with angry eyes. « A great day? Tomorrow my daughter will be taken from me! Tomorrow, my own daughter who I raised for sixteen years will be taken from me and will be sacrificed! How dare you speak about a « great day, » it's not a great day! Tomorrow Colette is going to die! »

The oldest didn't even blink, seeming impassive to his pain. « Tomorrow Colette will become the Chosen, the daughter of Angels. It's the Will of the Devine. Martel wants her to do so,» she said those words with an emotionless voice, as if she had tamed her own feelings. « We can't do anything, Franck. We are only Human beings whereas she is the link between the Heaven and us. We must obey to the Goddess's will. How do you think I felt when your little brother had been sent away in a House of Salvation beyond the seas? He was just born, I couldn't even take him into my arms. I couldn't even kiss him. Fate can be cruel but we have to submit. Moreover, sacrificing Colette is the only thing that could save our people from the Desians… »

Franck's eyes couldn't stop fixing his daughter sleeping. He knew his mother was right, he knew that Colette was the only hope left to the Sylvarant people. Moreover, he was totally aware of his powerlessness… Even if he tried, he would not be able to protect her from her fate. He could only watch her killer herself to the sake of others. The blond man was not able to breath anymore, the knot into his throat had become big enough to block his respiration. His face was distorted by his pain. He had to try several times before being able to murmur « it is told that she is an Angel's daughter, that I'm not her real father… »

Phaidra looked at him for a while. She sighed. « They are idiots! They are true idiots! They simply want to ease their conscience by convincing themselves that she is not your daughter, that she doesn't belong to our world. By doing that, they think we will not suffer when Colette goes back to Heaven. »

She put her wrinkled hand on his shoulder in order to comfort him, to help him into this horrible event. But, she couldn't find the right words. So, she stood close to him as he cried while he caressed his daughter's hand. « The Hero Mithos suffered for us… Spiritua too. When Colette dies, she will be among them in Heaven, she will hold their hands and pray for us,» she murmured with a tired voice, strangled by her tears she couldn't back up anymore. « Goddess Martel, please, give us the strength to accomplish our duty… »

O.O.O.O

This blessed day was warm and sunny. The sun's rayes enlightened the village. No clouds dared hiding the sun or diluted the blue of the sky. Such a beautiful day to die! On her way to school, the blond girl stopped for a moment and had a look into the direction of Martel's Temple. Tic, tac, tic, tac. Time was running. She could have stood a while peeping at the horizon but a noise made her stop her contemplation. All her classmates were standing in front of the school, waiting for her arrival. All were smiling, all were relaxed, all were resplendent. Could she blame them? Today was the great day. The Day of Prophecy. All dreams, all hopes were allowed this day. Her smile appeared on her delicate lips enlightening her doll face, as she joined them for her last hours of class ever.

O.O.O.O

« Well, maybe their hopes would come true but I hardly doubt about mine coming true » she thought as a light blinded the entire class. This beautiful light was announcing the end of her brief life. The students could feel excitement running through their body. Their teacher preferred going outside, meeting the priest to be sure that this light it was really the Oracle. The blond girl stayed at her desk, gazing at her notes, far away from the agitation of the class.

« Do you want to come and see? Aren't you curious about what happened Colette? After all, it concerns you! »

She smiled and nodded happily. She even laughed a little when she heard the youngest complaining about his sister being angry if they skipped class. As soon as they had left the building, had begun their way to the Temple, a monster appeared. « So, that's what a monster looks like? » she thought while Genis and Lloyd prepared themselves for the battle. She couldn't have left the village since she was born and therefore, had never seen a monster before. She only knew that they were demonic creatures and just like the Desians, would be sealed away if she became an Angel. In order to protect herself from them, she had to train for years, learning some combat techniques to use with her chakrams. With her big blue eyes, she observed Lloyd fighting this monster. She really was impressed by his battle skills - no wonder he was the best fighter of the village! As he lived outside the village, into the forest, surely he had already met some monsters. « Oh, Lloyd, if only… » She started thinking but was interrupted by seeing a blue aura around the youngest. She saw his lips moving very fast as if he was reciting a prayer very quickly… or maybe he was reciting a spell! Indeed, Genis was an Elf and so, like Half-Elves, he was able to invoke Mana and use it! In a few secondes, some stalagmites appeared below the monster, impaling it. The beast fell down, lying-down into its own blood.

« At least, the villagers would be able to eat it for diner! The meat of those monsters is good! It's really delicious when it is well cooked and well seasoned. » Assured the young boy to his friends.

Lloyd frowned « Yeah… I'm a bit doubtful about this meat being delicious! When I cook some, it's always disgusting! »

The youngest sighed and gazed at him with a tired regard « Lloyd, you suck at cooking that's all… You don't follow the recipes… »

« But there are so long… so full of details… »

The blondie laughed again. The two boys stopped fighting and looked at her with surprise before smiling at her. Finally they could continue their way to the Temple. The young men could feel some excitement running through their bodies as they were the only laypeople who had walked on that sacred road. Only Phaidra, Colette and the priests were allowed on it. Lloyd smiled whereas Genis started running into the Temple's direction. The youngest wished to arrive as soon as possible to seen an Angel! He wanted to see one of those divine creatures since he was little! But when he finally arrived in front of the stairs which conducted to the Sanctuary, his happiness disappeared. Something bad was happening! There was some noise!

O.O.O.O

While she was climbing the stairs she couldn't help thinking about the priest who died into her arms a few minutes ago. The old man passed his last moments warning her about the Desians who had violated the treaty. He had put his bloody hand on her right cheek, searching desperately to meet her blue eyes. He had wanted to die while looking into the Chosen's eyes. Seeing him dying had reminded Colette about the importance of her mission, she was their only hope if they wanted to end up the Desian tyranny. That was why, full of a new strength, the blondie had begun to approach the Temple without any fear.

« I'm coming too Colette! I won't let you alone! »

She didn't know what to answer. She stood astonished fro a moment. She started shaking and said in a soft voice « Lloyd, it's very dangerous… » She could feel the boy gazing at her. A knot appeared into her throat. Her heart pounded quickly. The blondie never thought that someone would want to come with her during her ordeal but her two friends wanted to do so in order to be sure that she would be safe.

« Thank you » she smiled.

O.O.O.O

An old woman stood before the heavy doors of the Temple with the strong intention to not let those attackers entering. Those monsters had no parole, had no honor… They had dared attacking some clergymen who were Martel's servants. She stepped back when their leader appeared. She knew perfectly what that man wanted but she would never tell him. Never ever!

Suddenly, the blond girl arrived and faced him fiery. His henchmen ran in her direction, ready to kill her at anytime but were stopped by Lloyd who managed to make them step back. Near her, she could hear Genis reciting his spells. Seeing her friends fighting with all their strength, Colette finally realized that if she wanted to survive and accomplish her duty, she would have to fight back and so, full of determination, she took her chakrams and threw them back in their face. Now, she would be strong!

The swords met within a deafening sound, only the fire balls crashing against the Half-Elves were noisier. While he was fighting, Lloyd became to be aware that his opponents were much more powerful than he thought. Angrily, he bit his tongue before impaling one of them. « Maybe I was wrong! Maybe they are not so powerful! » he smirked. But, unfortunately for him, he received another blow - much more painful - which made him kneel. His new attacker was a giant guy, wearing an amazing armor and an oversized helmet which covered his entire face. On his right hand, he was holding an enormous mass which he had used to warm Lloyd badly.

« Damn! Colette! » The young man whispered, trying to stay conscient despite the pain, some blood was sinking from his mouth. He saw Genis trying to rescue them with some fire balls but the mass of their enemy was able to send them away. The youngest started shaking, fearing the hit that would smash him against the walls.

« Colette! » Lloyd screamed in despair. He could not let her alone with that giant, she had no chances to survive! He curled himself for a few seconds, and using his last strengths, tried to jump at him. He couldn't. As soon as he was up, he staggered and then fell down, laying on the floor. The pain was unbearable! However, when he saw the Desian approaching Colette, he rushed to her, not feeling his suffering anymore.

They were all astonished by what they saw. No one of the three friends dared to move for a little moment. A man just appeared from nowhere and managed to block their nemesis's attack. His mass had been stopped by the newcomer's shield. The teenagers looked at him with admiration as he fought against the giant. In a few secondes, he had been able to injury him very badly and to finish him with a final hit of his sword.

Then, the newcomer turned before the three friends and a cercle of green light surrounded him before going to the two injured boys. In a very few moments, they were both cured. Lloyd was even able to stand up without feeling any pain from his coasts as if they had never been broken. The young man had to admet that « this guy was strong. »

« Kratos! I never thought you would show up!»

Lloyd's eyes went on the Desian leader. He was really surprised by the fact that a Desian knew a Human's name. That surely meant a lot… His surprise grew higher when he saw the soldiers withdraw. This man was strong enough to make the Desians run away… That was something. The young man was wondering about the newcomer's strength and rapidity. He thought that this guy was way too strong to be a normal human. He frowned, something on the man's hand had attracted his attention. An exsphere!

« How could I ever thank you for saving the Chosen? »

Lloyd didn't pay attention to what Phaedra said to this Kratos. He was only focusing about how dull he had been… He didn't manage to protect Colette from the Desians, he wasn't strong enough to do so. His heart pulsed. He was so angry against himself for his powerlessness. Suddenly, Colette moved into the Temple's direction, saying that she was going to undergo the trial but Phaedra put her old hand on the Chosen's shoulder to prevent her to do so, telling her that it was too dangerous without any protection. Of course, without any hesitation, Lloyd volunteered to escort her, to make sure that no one of the monsters sent for the trial would be able to touch her.

« Lloyd it's far too dangerous! » the grandma told him firmly.

Lloyd… The newcomer didn't know why but this name sounded very familiar… Maybe it was the name of one of those children he had met during his several journeys… He didn't know why but suddenly, he felt something heavy blocking his breathing.

« Your name is Lloyd? » he asked with a calm voice.

The auburn man saw the young swordsman turning at him and gazing at him with questioning eyes. He shrugged while responding « yes, I'm Lloyd. But who are you to ask for my name? »

« I'm Kratos, a mercenary. As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the Chosen. »

The old woman seemed both relieved and shocked by his offer. Shocked because demanding a payment for protecting the Chosen was incongruous! It was the duty of each Sylvaranti to protect the Chosen. The greediness of that mercenary disgusted her. She was also relieved because she had seen how powerful this man was. With him by her sides, the Chosen would be safe. Silently, she nodded in order to seal their agreement.

While the newcomer approached the doors with Colette, Lloyd, furiously, screamed that he was coming too. Kratos stopped and looked at Lloyd again. Those brown eyes full of innocence and will… He knew he had already met them somewhere… But where? On whose's face? He didn't know anymore… When he told him to get back home, those eyes were enlighten by determination. The auburn frowned, trying desperately to remember whose eyes they were.

« Mister Kratos, please. Could Lloyd come with us? I'm a bit nervous when he is not around me…. »

Kratos looked at the Chosen and nodded. She was the Chosen therefore, as long as they were on the Journey of Regeneration, he would have to obey her. He gave a last regard to Lloyd who was thanking his friend for her demand, trying tirelessly to understand why this kid was disturbing him so much.

Even though it was a privilege for lay people to enter into the Temple, neither the two kids nor Kratos seemed to be impressed by the place. If at the beginning Lloyd was amused and enthusiast as soon as they had got the Sorcerer's ring, the swordsman was bored. « Martel is really a strange person » he thought when another monster changed itself into a rock. He was weary when they finally arrived in front of a strange platform which teleported them into the most important room of the Temple, the room in which, in the middle of its altar, a miraculous stone known as the Cruxis Cristal was kept.

When Colette kneeled in front of the altar, a dazzling light appeared from the roof and spread through the room. They all had to close their eyes due to its brightness. « So that is the Light of Judgement » thought Genis while he was covering his eyes with his hands. Some white feathers fell down. When they finally were able to open up their eyes again, they saw a blond man with amazing white wings flying before them. Genis was astonished by the movement of the wings… « They seemed to be a swan's ones » he murmured to himself. On the other hand, Lloyd was more interested by the Angel's costume which consisted on a white and green dress embroidered with gold and silver wires. He frowned, thinking how luxuriantly he was dressed. Angels were as that skittish to cover themselves with so much tissues?

Finally Colette - who was the only one to have her eyes closed - was able to open them and dared look at the Angel. This being was so great, so virtuous, so pur. Was he really her father? How a being so beautiful, so graceful could have a daughter like her? She nearly felt unworthy of this glorious descent. The Chosen was not a human being. The Chosen was the child of the Angels. She kept scrutinizing every details of this devine being, she kept admiring his caring smile. « So much goodness into one single body! » She thought.

« I am Remiel. I am an Angel of Judgement. »

His voice was grave but also soft. No one dared saying a word - even Lloyd who usually, didn't have his mouth into his pocket. They were all admiring the divine being who directed his hand in their direction.

« The time has come to awake the Goddess Martel who sleeps at the center of the world. »

When he said that, the little red stone which was on the altar started shining. The two boys looked at it with fascination whereas Colette was lost in the contemplation of the Angel. Suddenly, it raised and the blondie's chest began shining too. A few secondes later, a beautiful necklace was put around her delicate neck which had on its center the fantastic red stone.

« From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration. »

A violent earthquake made them startle. Everything was moving around them. The little boy - who didn't understand what had happened - gave a look by the window and glimpsed the highest tower ever, so high that he couldn't see its top. « This is the Tower of Salvation! » he thought. This tower was the special link which bounded Humans to Heaven. It was the symbol of hope. The youngest reminded Raine's lesson about the ancient Kings of Palmacosta who didn't believe its existence. According to him, they were fools! The Goddess, the Angels, they were all here to protect innocents from the Desians. « The world is going to be saved! » he screamed, the Desians sealed away, the Human Ranches destroyed and the world regenerated him and his sister would not have to hide anymore, they could be accepted by the people, they would not be ashamed of their race anymore! That was why he was so impatient about Colette's success.

His friend was still looking at the Angel without saying anything but suddenly, she said with a solemn voice « I humbly accept this task.» This made the winged man's smile grew - at a point that Lloyd was wondering how it was still possible.

« We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the Angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an Angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated. »

While Colette was swearing on her life to fulfill her duty, Lloyd thought that someone had to make sure that she would be able to do so and to come back to Isealia after her Journey; he was convinced that this person was him himself.

« Oh, wait! Please wait! » said Colette as soon as the Angel seemed to disappear. « I have a question! Are you really my fat… » She stopped talking abruptly, feeling ashamed of her own behavior. How dared she hail at him like that? He was an Angel, a divine being. What was she thinking about when she had asked him such a trivial question? She was so afraid of having shocked him. However as if he knew her troubles, Remiel looked at her with the most gentle eyes ever and reached his hand in her direction. « First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? My beloved Colette, we shall meet again at the next Seal, my daughter. »

His last word was resonating into the girl's ears. She really was his daughter. She, the Chosen, really was the child of an Angel. At this moment, she didn't know which feeling was the most powerful - it seemed as all emotions were fighting into her body to dominate the others. Did she feel some joy? Obviously! Some anxiety? A bit - now that she had figured out that Remiel was her real father, she had a more important reason to success her task: she had to make him proud! Some sadness? Oddly, yes… She could feel a feeling of sadness going throughout her body…

She could have stayed here to focus on her emotions but she felt the regard of the mercery on her. She smiled to him, understanding that he wanted to go to Phaedra as soon as possible to speak about his payement. This was normal, she thought. She only asked the others to meet her at Franck's house at the end of the afternoon and then, followed the auburn man.

« The rumor was true! » said the youngest after they both had left.

« Which rumor? »

« That Colette is the daughter of an Angel and is not really related to her current father. »

The swordsman's blood boiled. How dared he saying something which ruined everything Franck had ever done for Colette?! Who had raised her, had fed her, had loved her since she was born? Who had been at her bedside when she was ill? Who had patched her dresses when she teared them up? Who had cured her when she fell down and skinned herself? Who had always been here for her? Franck! Franck! And not the other winged one! He thought, angrily, trying to keep calm.

« Even if you are not related by blood, family is family! »

Genis looked at his friend, scrutinizing his eyes. He knew that he had touched a sensitive spot. Full of remorses, he lowered his head before telling him that he was sorry. Lloyd put his shoulder and smiled at him. « Don't worry! I'm ok! »

O.O.O.O

Hits… Always hits… She felt dizzy. The smell of the blood combined with the smell of her sweat made her giddy. She felt heavy, ungainly… She seemed to be a carrion without any strength. Her injuries were irritated by her prisoner's grey dress which was sticked to them due to her blood. Today had been an awful day… Their jailers were even cruelest than usual. If at the beginning of the day she hadn't understood the reason of their rage, she finally figured out when she had seen the Tower of Salvation. Her heart was now filled with hope and joy. The prisoner thanked the Great Seraphs and the Goddess Martel for their kindness. She thanked them for having accepted the Chosen… Soon, the Desians would be sealed away, soon she would be free.

A new hit, harder than the others, made her falter. She fell on the ground and felt her bones breaking under the shock. They were crunching even more as the Desians' boots were taking out on her body. Hidden by her dirty blondish hair, a small smile appeared on her fragile lips. Pain had almost anesthetized her…. Pain or the hope of seeing her family once more, she didn't really know. She bared all the hits without any complains, without making any movements, just waiting like a rag doll which was used by an angry kid until he got bored. She felt a heavy gloved hand picking up her neck and tackled her against a wall. She finally screamed.

O.O.O.O

A warrior dressed with a black uniform, sporting a red armband at his right arm and a protective visor lowered on his face, was walking through the corridors of the Ranche. He arrived into a room in which all the high tech machines indicated that it was here that all the datas given by the security cameras, were treated. One of his subordinates sat in front of a screen, made a movement with one of his hands, signifying that their leader was in his office. He thanked him with a nod and went there. When he arrived in front of a heavy door, he knocked and then, came into the richly decorated apartments. The Lord was sitting at a wood mahogany desk, patting with his only hand the armrest of the chair. With his only eye, he was watching - with a very nasty look - the retransmission of the images of one of the security cameras placed on the walls of the enclosure.

« He comes from Iselia… I have always dreamed to burn that place… Knowing that the Chosen is leaving at noon tomorrow… »

The Cardinal's sentence resonated into the room, his right-hand man nodded, thinking about how he dared to violate the treaty of non-aggression that his Lord was merciful enough to sign! This treaty was, of course, useful to fulfill Cruxis's purpose but it had always bothered the warrior to see the mayor strutting when he was insulting Half-Elves at the same time. And today, some Humains didn't even respect this Treaty his Lord signed!

« My Lord, have you already thought about this Human's punition? »

The chief kept silent for a moment, came up and went to the bay window which viewed on one of the Ranche's courtyards in which the prisoners were pushing and pulling those massive black blocks. He watched them, a smirk appeared on his lips.

« Humans are disgusting creatures, Bradley. They are always ready to betray their engagements… We can't trust them! They abound into darkness, waiting for the right moment to hit… Like vermin! Around seven A.M remove the exsphere of F192… She is the one who is going to teach him a lesson! Oh…ah, yeah… Don't forget to tease the monster! I want a good show! »

The Cardinal smiled while imagining the mayor being hit by the creature, but then, sighed deeply. « And what about our _guest?_ Any news? »

Bradley lowered his head, gazing at the floor for a while. He was ashamed to tell his master that he had failed his mission… It had been three weeks since his unit and himself were looking for that shadow who sneaked into the Ranche during night. By three times, she had infiltrated the Ranch, by three times she had been filmed by the cameras and by three times they had been unable to capture her. She came from the airs, sliding gracefully on a wire she had extended upon one of the courtyards, then she passed through the roof, she crawled into the vent pipes, she arrived into the room in which the exspheres were stocked and finally, she left the Ranch as discretely as she did to come in. The one-eyed man was getting angrier… By three times she had humiliated me! No matter her race, I would make her pay! I would fall asleep, cradled by her screams of agony! He thought.

« It's a question of time, my Lord. »

The right-hand man looked at his master then, walked to the dest and pushed a bouton on the keyboard. Was then projected on the wall, the record of the security camera. A shadow sliding furtively on a wire, doing some pirouettes could be seen. This shadow dressed with a dark long skirt with blue-night shades and a black top, seemed to dance upon the void. However, its face couldn't be seen as it was wearing some scarves which hide its face and its hair. While the Cardinal was watching, the subordinate stopped the film, pointing at the record.

« I didn't notice before but, look how the intruder moves. It's not improvised. She knows perfectly what she does. She jumped here and there, not because she was going to fall, but because she is executing a choreography… She is dancing!

« Since when the Renegates teach their recruits how to dance? » the Cardinal smirked.

Bradley bit his lips violently. He didn't want to tell his master what he knew but he had to. « Lord Forcystus, you must be aware of that… After the first intrusion, we doubled the staffing and the traps but, she managed to get through them by waiting for the transfert of the prisoners from our Ranch to another one. Each time, she waits for the our men to be occupied by the transferts because she knows that the workforce would be divided. Moreover, she also knows perfectly how to avoid the several new traps we had placed! Someone is helping her! Some Renegates are infiltrated into our Ranch and informe her! »

There was a silent for a moment but soon, the one-handed man shrugged calmly. « It's obvious… But that means that her capture is even more important! How much time would she be able to bear the hits before revealing the names of her mates? » He smiled, being amused by this idea. «So… Continue to strengthen the staffing of the patrols, make them continue the perquisitions into the villages of the district, in order to put the people ill-at-ease. Tell our troops that I'm leaving the Ranch with my men on tomorrow morning to do a military operation in Iselia. Tell them that I'm going with a significant part of my soldiers and that I'm coming back at night… Does your unite is made of loyal men? »

« It is my Lord. I assure you of their loyalty! »

« So, some of them are going to wait into the Ranch. You will come with me and the rest of our troops but, at midway, I will send them back to the Ranch. The traitors won't be able to warn her. The other part of your unite which was with us, will go through the forest and put it on fire. The intruder won't be able to run away or to hide somewhere. Finally, the rest of our men will surround the Ranch and will rake the burnt forest. She will be at our mercy! »

The warrior nodded. He knew that he couldn't unmask the traitors… They had to compose with the Renegates. His Lord's plan was ingenious because it used their weaknesses. Knowing that the Ranch was empty, Forcystus was gone, the room of the exsphere was left without any surveillance, the Renegates had to take that opportunity. The traitors were about to fall into the trap! He went to the bay-window to watch the prisoners working and, removed the visor of his helmet, revealing a forehead, a part of his right temple and a part of his right cheek burnt, covered with some blisters. His green eyes met the regard of his superior.

« Tomorrow is going to be a great day! »

O.O.O.O

Night had fallen for a long time upon the village. All the houses were into darkness, their inhabitants peacefully sleeping. There was only one light, one weak light, at the first flat of a house. The person who was living there, was writing a letter under the light of her candle. Every word she wrote was hurting her deeply. It seemed to her as if her guts were teared up. She could feel some spasms throughout her all body. She had lied to him… consciously… But after having heard the discussion between Lloyd and his father, she knew how much he wanted to avenge his mother. She knew how his blood was boiling into his veins. She knew that he couldn't bear living into a village which had signed a treaty of non-aggression with the Desians who had murdered his mother. She had seen his so joyful and optimistic face becoming transformed by anger, by rage, by hate. He wanted to avenge his mom's pains, his mom's death but also his own orphan child's sufferings… Colette understood his feelings perfectly but she couldn't let his soul being corrupted by them. She was born to die and to seal those monsters… She would do it. « Lloyd, I will do it for you, so you could live happy, so you could be appeased and move on, » she whispered, determinate, « you are the one who gives me the strength to live sixteen wonderful years. Thank you. »

 _Dear Lloyd_

 _By the time you read this, I will have already left on my journey._

 _I_ _'_ _m sorry for lying to you._

 _The World Regeneration Journey is full of peril, many Chosen have failed._

 _I care about you too deeply to let you get involved._

 _I_ _'_ _m going to do my best to stop the monsters and the Desians._

 _So I want you to live a happy and peaceful life in the regenerated world._

 _Thank you so much for your friendship and kindness of these years._

 _I_ _'_ _m really lucky to have met you._

 _Farewell_

 _Colette_

She looked at her letter for a while before putting her pen on her wooden desk. She paused. Then, the blond girl stood up and walked slowly to her bed. She kneeled, posing her elbows on her mattress, joining her hands. She pried. For hours, she stayed there prying, thanking Martel to have let Lloyd and Genis come with her at the Temple, praying for the souls of all the people who waited her death with impatience, prying for his friend to be able to move on.

« Martel, please, give me some strength… I'm so scared. »

She started sniffing - a bit first then a lot. Her voice trembled, her eyes got wet, some tears and sobs came. Alone in the darkness of her bedroom, Colette cried.

O.O.O.O

Kratos went out to go on a little walk in the village. He tried to tame - or to hide - all the emotions he was feeling. By some time he couldn't breath, by some time his guts hurt him very badly, by some time he felt dizzy, by some time he wanted to cry and by some time his mouth transformed into a crooked smile. _He was alive._ How could he have not seen him into the ravine? How could he have abandoned his own son so quickly? Why had a simple shoe - tinted with blood - been able to convince him that his own son was dead? He should have looked for him for a longer time. He should have descended into the ravine, profaned his wife's dead body and looked for his track…. He should have done all that! « Damn! » he screamed, deep inside him, holding his head with his hands, sitting on the wet grass.

When he had enough strength to stand up, he looked at the stars into the sky of the night. « Anna… He was here… » he whispered - his voice being broken by his emotion - to a deceased, to one of the stars. « W-What should I do Anna? »

The sky stayed clear, the stars continued to shine peacefully, unconcerned by the pain of this world. This calm clashed with the mercenary's despair. He was a coward who came back to Cruxis with his tail between his legs after having abandoned his own son… And now? Could he really go back to Cruxis now that he had found his son? Could he run away again? Even though he had his son back, what would really change? The two worlds would continue to fight for Mana, Mithos would continue to control the mortals with an iron hand, Yuan would continue to not care about all that, Desians would continue to exist… At least, with Martel being resurrected, someone would finally be able to calm Mithos down… Even though Mithos's aim could seem extreme to all those ignorants mortals, it was the only way to assure the survival of both worlds and of Mana…

He could hear some cries and snobs coming from the house of the Chosen. Obviously, there were the tears of the young girl but also those of the old woman who had payed him this afternoon - her grandma he presumed. The world created by Yggdrasil was grandiose: the hourglass's mechanism, the Chosen's faith, Martel's religion… All of that had been setting up by this Angel to assure the stability of the worlds, to assure the survival of Mana - the source of Life - therefore to guarantee life at those who deserve it… Yes, the world created by Yggdrasil really was grandiose…

« _And that_ _'_ _s why an old grandmother_

 _With her poor gray fingers shaking with age_

 _Must sew in winding-sheet a sixteen-year-old child._ _»_


	3. Massacre

Hi everyone!

It's been a very long time! Translating a story is very hard and can take some time (and of course, at the same time, I had a lot of projects to prepare for my university). I have finally found a beta but as I was really impatient to continue this story, I have decided to post the chapter and after to re-upload it with his correction.

I just have to say that I tried to create a background to the world of T.o.S and especially by giving names to regions (for instance, the Celcien continent is the name of the snow-covered island on which Flanoir and Celcius' temple are located) or by adding some small villages (as I can't imagine a world with only a ten of towns).

And finally, I was inspired by the _Maison d'Izieu_ for the creation of a movement of Half-Elves fighting the Cruxis in a more peaceful way than the Renegades. It was a real association in France during the Occupation which hid Jews children among a boarding school in the South of France.

I hope you will enjoy it!  
I'm always open to speak about ToS and to improve my English by talking/writing to people!

O.O.O.O

The rays of the sun were enlightening the bedroom in which Lloyd was still sleeping peacefully, so peacefully that no one would have ever thought the shock that had on him the news he had learnt yesterday night. He was there, lying on his bed, smiling like an angel.

A yummy smell came to titillate his nostrils. He moaned softly and then, stood a little on his bed before falling back again. He was exhausted. His night had been disrupted by some nightmares in which he could have seen himself falling from a cliff, hearing some screams and then, being buried under a very heavy body…

His brown eyes gazed at the roof, scrutinizing the wooden beams of his chamber. The anger which was so present yesterday evening when his dad had revealed him the truth about his mom's death, had gone, being replaced by some hope and will… Yes, he really wanted to go with Colette, to protect her, to save the world… By doing that he would avenge his mother but he would even appease the people of Sylvarant from their misery. He smiled, put back one of his black hair strand to its place and finally, got up.

Murmuring some words, he dived a grey towel that was on a wooden shelf in the cold water of a big basin which was in one of the corners of his bedroom. Then, he took the black soap and rubbed it against the wet laundry before passing it on his face. The boy huffed. Washing himself was the second worst thing ever - the first one being to wake up. While he was closing his straps, he suddenly thought about the discussion he had with Colette last night. She had told him how impatient she was to be at the seal of Fire, to break it and to see her father again. He didn't manage to not roll his eyes before smiling again. His friend had always been so candid! Full of goodwill and hope. He put his red gloves on, readjusted them before rolling up a gauze strip on his Exsphere.

When Lloyd was finally dressed, he took the two wooden swords his father had made for him firmly and attached their sheath to his waist by using two crossed waistbands. As soon as he was ready, he went down. The only living room was empty therefore; Lloyd ran out to see Noishe. The animal was awoken and barked at him meanwhile came to the young man, waiting for some strokes. Even though the dog had always been very affective, it seemed to Lloyd that he was a bit more than usual. Maybe something had scared him yesterday night? Maybe this stupid guy - Kratos - had given him some sugar and he wanted some more? In order to satisfy his wish, the swordsman took the pet's neck, pated his flank before tousling his green fur. Hearing his barks made Lloyd wonder why some of his classmates were continuing to believe that Noishe was not a dog, laughed and then, kissed his muzzle gently and walked into the garden in order to find his father.

He saw him standing before his mother's grave. Without any word, he came by his side and glazed at the golden letters of his mother's name. Anna. Such a beautiful name. How many times had he cried for her? He didn't even know what she looked like. Did she have the same eyes as him? Was she tall? He couldn't even say. While Lloyd was thinking about his mother, he didn't notice the glance his father was giving to him. The dwarf admired how his boy had changed throughout the years since he had extracted his little body from the monstrous arms of his mother, colored with blood and mud.

Suddenly, the youngest noticed him and smiled to him. When his eyes met those of his father, he felt a bit remorseful. He had been awful yesterday night… He knew he shouldn't have acted this way but when he had learnt the truth about his mother's death, he had not been able to handle it. He had not been able to cope with his father's lies. Even though he had been very disappointed to learn that the man who had taught him the Dwarven Vows had lied to him - on the most serious subject ever - he finally admitted that all those lies were another proof of his father's love for him. He had wanted to be sure that his son would not go tease the Desians in order to avenge his mother. He had loved this boy so much that he had left everything to set up on the surface, that he had hidden him from the Desians to rise him safely. Lloyd was aware that he was lucky to have a father like Dirk.

« Dad, for yesterday… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that… »

Dirk gave a gentle look at his son. He was so proud of him. So proud that Lloyd became a free-minded young man who was able to recognize his mistakes. He scratched his beard and smiled. He felt satisfied as he had the impression of having accomplished his duty. « For you, kid! »

Lloyd was a bit astonished as he grabbed the very small object his father was holding and looked at it carefully. It was a Key Crest which just had been forged since the material was a bit hot. For how long had his father been working on it? Had he spent all his night to create it?

« Lloyd! Listen to me! If something happens to… »

His law voice had no impact on the young man as he was still contemplating the small object. This little thing made of Dwarven material with some magical incantations engraved on it, could seem insignificant to the lay people. However, owing to it, Marble would be saved. Lloyd smiled.

« Thanks! »

Dirk looked at his son for a moment and then smiled too, feeling relieved. The old man had been scared that the revelation could have had a bad influence on him, destroying their trust and their relationship forever. For seventeen years he had lied to him, telling him that his mother had fallen from the hills while she was going to Iselia and that her head had hit a rock. This tale he had told him was far away from the real bloodbath he had assisted to this famous night. Dirk knew that he was a liar furthermore, he knew that he had violated one of the most important Dwarven Vows… He felt bitter and ashamed. He should have told him the truth when his son had become older.

The Dwarf could have continued to gaze at Lloyd for a long moment, if the little Elf hadn't arrived in a rush, screaming at the brown man that their friend had already left the village. Therefore, he said to him to go, giving him a hug. As their shadows started to disappear into the forest, Dirk smiled again, thinking that he had risen an incredible young man.

O.O.O.O

The night had not been calmed with the violent wind and the snow falling. As winter was coming, nights became more freezing than usual. Laid on the rough mattress of a wooden bed in a dormitory, a teenage girl shivered while she tried to awake. When she finally had enough strength, she straightened a bit, took her hairbrush posed on her bedside table and brushed her long dark blue hair into two braids. She stayed on her bed, gazing at the floor with grazed eyes for quite a while before going to the bathroom. There, there was a big wooden basin full of cold water. Without any convictions, she took the washing mitt, plunged it in the water, she sighted and rubbed it on a piece of black soap before washing her visage, her fragile shoulders and her armpits. She shivered even more when she had to wash all the bubbles of soap on her skin with this frozen water. Quickly, she grabbed a towel, dried herself and finally put on the clothes which were on a wooden chair.

First of all, she put on her white cotton bloomers, socks and a shirt of the same color, then she attached her black corset before adjusting to it a long blue dress. Finally, she put on a pair of old black used shoes. When she was ready, she went downstairs and ran out in the large kitchen where an older lady was working yet.

«Ah! Pronyma! Good to see you! Did you sleep well? »

The teenage girl gave her a blasé look before yawning. «I'm okay, thanks! I'm gonna to eat something before I help you » she said as she sat at a wooden table in the middle of the piece, watching her friend stirring something into a big container with a large spoon. «What are you cooking? » She asked while she was crunching a buttered slice of bread.

«Some pancakes, for tonight! They have brought some flour and butter yesterday evening. The kids are going to be very happy! » answered the other woman with a big smile on her face.

The teenage girl fixed her without stopping to eat her breakfast. She admired the green eyes and the soft smile of the older one. Suddenly, she felt a knot in her throat. If only all Humans were like her, were like them… Since she had been living there, in the hamlet of the association, she had been protected from insults and hits. Here, she was safe. As the oldest of the children living here, she had to help Lilly to take care of the others lodgers. Lilly was the headmaster of this place which she tried her best to rule despite her young age and her very small size. Indeed, she was only twenty-five years old and her height was hover over one meter and fifty-five centimeters. Sometimes, some others members of the association came in order to give her a hand, but as the arrests had become more common, it was safer if Lilly was the only ruler of the hamlet. Pronyma couldn't stop watching Lilly. She was so petite! Her long red dress enhanced the radiance of her kissed by fire hair, which was tied-back as a ponytail. She looked at her while she was breaking the eggs before mixing up the all.

«Why are you staring at me, Pronyma? » She finally asked, her brown eyes becoming laughing behind her glasses.

The young lady shook her head, murmuring a small « It's nothing, » before getting up and washing the table. Then, she went out in order to find some water which would be used by the kids for their wash. To do so, she had to the well built in the center of the hamlet's courtyard. Meanwhile walking throughout the snow, she was freezing and remembered why this place had been abandoned for so long. The two big houses of the hamlet were placed into inhospitable area in the mountains of the Celcien continent. No-one would ever have the crazy idea of climbing such snow-capped peaks! Therefore, it was the perfect place to hide some rebels and escaped children from the labs. Staring at the well, she sighed and took the pickaxe used to break the slight patch of ice which had been formed upon the water of the well. She did so and tugged the rope in order to pick up the bucket full of water. She took its handle with a wince: at every movement she did, some frozen water was sprayed on her fragile wrists.

She only felt relieved when she discharged the water into the large cooking pot suspended above a fire which the lodgers had to maintain. Then, she walked into the large room which was used as a canteen because of its wooden tables which were large enough to let forty children to sit down. Pronyma smiled when she saw that Lilly had already finished to prepare everything for their breakfast.

« Be brave! They are coming! »

The headmaster arrived into the piece with some carafes of water which she put randomly on the tables. « Let's go! Keep smiling! » Pronyma frowned. The teenage girl knew exactly how this day was going to be: exhausting like usual. She knew she would have to run everywhere, trying to comfort the children, to appease their fears, to hear their cries… She knew they were all terrified. They feared that the Papal knights would find them, would catch them and torture them. Her green childish eyes looked at Lilly who was murmuring something. Lilly was the only Human among them, she was the only Human left since Will and Henry had been arrested because of their activism. Lilly was perfectly aware of what she risked by heading the association and despite that, she was still here for them.

« Why are you looking at me like this? »

Pronyma didn't know what to answer. She couldn't put some words on what she felt. She wished she could say that she was afraid, outraged, in rage, but also proud of being a Half-Elf. She had so many feelings mixed up into her fragile teenage body. She would like to scream to each Human that she hated them for what they had done to her but at the same time, she wanted to kiss Lilly, to tell her how much she loved her and all the others members of the association… How could she express all those opposite feelings with understandable words? Ashamed, she looked down and watched at the floor, waiting.

« Pronyma? »

The oldest put her hand on the teenager's shoulder, searching for her look. « Pronyma, what is going on? » There was a brief silence. The blue-hair girl didn't want her eyes to meet Lilly's ones. She bit her chapped lips, looking for her words. How to tell her? Which words could she use to describe her feelings? If only she knew how to do so. If only she knew how to tell her how she felt since yesterday night… Kindly, Lilly fondled Pronyma's hair, giving her a motherly kiss on her forehead.

« It's about Milly, right? » She asked softly.

Pronyma nodded vigorously. Without a word, Lilly hugged her more vigorously, wanting to appease the teenager's anger. With a quick look to the old clock, she was aware that the time to wake up all the kids had come but she couldn't move. She had to keep the young girl in her embrace. She continued to caress her head as she used to do when Pronyma was a little six-year-old girl.

« Pronyma, I know how you feel… I know how hard it is… But at least, here, she is safe. There is no need for you to keep continuing dreaming of revenge… Take care of her, that's all you can do. »

She had said those words with a calm, soft voice. Pronyma looked up, fixing the adult's brown eyes. She knew that Lilly was right, she knew that anger was not the solution and only created bad things. Even though she knew, she couldn't help but feel that hate. Sometimes, she felt revengeful, hateful against everyone - especially Humans. But why? The headmaster took her head into her hands, caressed her cheeks and smiled to her, telling her some soft words that mommies told their kids to appease them.

« Pronyma, they all need you. They need you to be strong. »

She nodded. She swore she would be as strong as a roc therefore, each little ones of the association could rely on her. She would not get weaker.

A few moments later, a flock of half-dressed children get downstairs, talking, screaming, yelling at each other. They were hungry! And they wanted everyone to know it! They all sat down at the tables, waiting for their meal as Pronyma and Lilly ran at every corner of the piece, giving them some hot milk.

« Stop crying, Forcystus! Here is your milk! »

The very young boy got of his thumb from of his mouth, sniffed a lot, murmuring with a soft asleep voice that it was not fare, that he was hungry, that Zelei was mean to him and that he was going to tell everything to Lilly. Pronyma gave a very bad look to Zelei who was a young blond height-year-old boy with mocking eyes and who grimaced easily. « Stop teasing Forcystus! He is the youngest here! » The blond boy pulled a face to his elder who went in another table to give some milk to a group of three girls. The little Forcystus took a small piece of bread with his little hand and made it fall into a jar of jelly. Everyone at the table laughed. A bit embarrassed, the young brown boy leaned and looked at the disaster. A girl with pink braids smiled at him, sat up straight and caught the bread before giving it back to him.

« Take it, Forcy! » She said gently.

The little boy took it but before he could eat it, Zelei, after winking at some of his friends, told him « But, Forcystus! Look! It's red! It's blood! » The youngest gave a terrified look at his piece of bread covered with jelly, sniffed and cried.

Meanwhile she was busy with some other kids, Lilly heard the cries of the little one and ran to him. She kneeled before him, posing a hand on his knee, asking him what happened. She frowned and gave to Zelei and the blondie's friends a furious look. « He is the youngest! You must be nicer with him! » The ginger woman caressed Forcystus' brown hair who was hewing his napkin. He was only four and couldn't deal with his violent emotions. He sniffed. Lilly looked at him with attention. His green eyes were full of fear. Forcystus had been at the association for two months… Lilly remembered this night when Will came back with the little Half-Elf into his arms. After giving him a bath and tucked him in a little bed, Will had told her that he had found the boy begging for food into the ghetto of Flanoir. His mother should have abandoned him after having raised him for several years, that was the only explanation of the fact that the little boy was still remembering her and waiting for her. He was convinced that she was going to come here and bring him back home. Lilly had not found the courage to tell him the truth, to tell him that his mother was probably ashamed of having giving birth to a Half-Elf and had preferred to let him die in the streets.

Pronyma was looking over a group of three girls aged from seven to ten. She couldn't stop glaring at them. They were lovely and despite that, no one would want them.

« Pronyma, can I have some more? » Asked one of those girls, looking up her big blue eyes on the teenage girl who shook her head « Sorry, Alice. One bread by person, you know the rule. » The blond girl sighed, waving her curls with a finger. Even though she was hungry, she had to deal with it. Therefore, she started to think. The last time she saw her parents was when they began their pilgrimage. They were forced to do so by the Church to expiate their fault which meant her birth. When they had left their little house of the Middle-Class district of Meltokio, the Papal Knights came on and brought her into this lab far away from the city. She had hated that place. She had been beaten all day long, and sometimes, people in white coat didn't let her sleep. They wanted to know if all this mistreatment was affecting her… m-mana? She didn't know what this word was. She met a lot of others Half-Elven children there. Many had died. Some couldn't bear the experimentations, others died from exhaustion.

She began to sing, imperturbable. Pronyma had a soft smile on her face while looking at her. Alice had been at the association since three years. And since her arrival, she showed how dreamy she was. She used to sing, to speak to herself and to draw all the time and everywhere - especially on her hands and arms. Pronyma couldn't tell if she had always been like this or if the mistreatments and the experimentations had affected her that much. Alice made Tia laughed. Tia was a nine-year-old ginger girl with freckles all over her cute face. She smiled at Olivia, another young girl with short brown hair and a bangs so long that they almost covered her brown eyes. Those three girls were good friends and were so cute. But sadly no one would ever want them because of their race. Pronyma sighted and suddenly, went to another corner of the table where three boys were having some fun by playing with their cutleries. The teenage Half Elf sighed again. Marius, Valerian and Oton were three nice boys full of energy… They had a lot of energy, too much energy! They were always planning some tricks and jokes to their classmates.

« If you have finished your meal, you leave the canteen and you go upstairs and make your bed! » She said, hands on her hips, frowning. Some moments later, Lilly went to her while she was cleaning her glasses with her apron before putting them back on her nose. Finally, she asked her with a worried voice to go upstairs and to take care of Milly while she was finishing to feed the youngest ones.

Obedient, she nodded and went to the kitchen in order to full a little wooden bowl with some fresh water. She also took a tallow candle she lighted and then, climbed the stairs until the last floor. Standing in front of the old door, the Half Elf felt a knot into her throat. She took a breath and then, entered into the large dark room. The place was stern with nothing but a bed in its middle, a wooden chair and a little bedside table by the bed. Pronyma's eyes gazed at the tiny body lain down under warm black bedcovers. She put the tallow candle on the table, brought the chair by the bed and sat here, keeping an eye on the little girl. She almost cried while she watched all the scars she had on her small body. The room was silent. The only noise was the heavy breathing of the young brunette. Despite all the treatments Lilly gave her, the young girl was still in critical condition. Pronyma ducked, gazing at the dirty floor. She couldn't bear to see this poor child suffering. Again, anger and hate came back. She swallowed. She stood back up and caressed the hand of the sleeping girl. She coughed, some spams happened throughout her body. Pronyma wanted to cry even more. Maybe it was better for her to pass away instead of suffering like this. She had been unconscious for days… The pain was unbearable, she guessed.

A small blow came from her closed lips. The little one coughed. She had all the left side of her face covered by some bandages. Pronyma sighed. She felt so useless… « If only I were able to cast _First aid_ » she though, desperate « If I were, I could help her to endure that pain… » Her powers that afraid Humans were not strong enough to cure a single little life.

She looked at the fragile little body for a while. « Are we so despicable that we make our own parents hate us at the point they want us dead? » She murmured. She passed one of her hands in her blue braids. She closed her eyes, trying to remember something. She wanted to see her mother's and father's visage. Which one of them was the Human? Which one was the Elf? She tried to remember if they had once smiled to her, if they had hugged her, loved her. She could have stayed a long time, searching in her memories, but suddenly, something distracted her. She could feel that a great amount of mana appeared.

Pronyma frowned, feeling a bit anxious. So _he was back._

O.O.O.O

Lloyd couldn't handle his emotions. He seemed to him that his universe was falling apart. Everything was a lie. Nothing that he had read in this letter could be true. His blood was pulsing into his ears, his hearts started to beat quickly. « No! No! » Colette couldn't have done something like this. Colette! He had sworn to protect her, to help her during her journey! She couldn't be gone without him! With a quavering but determined voice, he said« I'm going to catch her up! » He gave a look to Genis who nodded vigorously. However, before the youngest could even say a word, a deafening sound stopped him, followed by several screams.

The two men ran outside the Chosen's house and weren't able to make another move. They were too dumbfounded by what was going on before their eyes. The Desians were there, beating, flogging, killing the peasants of the small village. It was a real bloodbath, as the inhabitants couldn't even defend themselves. Lloyd saw that when some of them tried to hide themselves into their houses, the Half-Elves used their magic in order to put it on fire, making them burn with the wood of their own houses.

Lloyd had to do something, therefore, he pulled out his swords and ran to the fist soldier he met, skewering him. Without a look for the corpse laying on the ground, the young man rushed to another Desian who was going to finish one of this friend off. She was on the reddish grass, listless because of the several hits she had received. Her body had many deep wounds. The face of the teenage girl was in blood with a kicked down mouth. Her tired eyes met Lloyd's. « Carefu… » She tried to tell him. Behind them, the soldier who was back on his feet, started to invoke some magic. His attempt failed only thanks to Genis who casted the spell faster. Lloyd gave him a look. He had been a bit too naive and had not been very aware of his real level of strength. He sighed. Genis helped him to support their friend - Rose - while they brought her back to Franck's house. Whereas Lloyd had to come back as a crossbowman attacked them, the youngest was the only one able to hold the bloody corpse. He could smell her breath, he could feel how weak her body had become. Finally, they arrived at the house where, with the help of the proprietor, the boy could lay her down on a couch. Her eyes met his. He could hear her whispering « Thank you, Genis… »

He looked at her for a little moment, scrutinizing her wounds. Those sharks had run at her vigorously, enjoying smashing her. And all this violence for what? Rose was the daughter of a gruff man only interested by his cows, she was always lost in her dream and very sweet. Why did they do that to her? She hadn't done anything wrong to anyone, to any Desian or Half-Elf… So why? Why?! He could smell her breath, stinking blood. When he finally reached Franck's house, he could lay her down on a couch with the man help and then, ran back to the battlefield, his head and his heart full of contradicting feelings.

O.O.O.O

The Grand Cardinal could feel the eyes of those inferior, despicable beings looking at him with fear. There were all here, clumped together as it could save them. Magnus was right… They were nothing more but vermin. A rictus appeared on his lips. When one of his men announced his name, a deathly silence reigned among the Humans. The few children who had escaped the purge, tried to hide themselves behind the dresses of their mother, the legs of their father - or behind any adults. At this moment, Lloyd and Genis rejoined the inhabitants of the village and gave a look at the Desian chief. So, he was Forcystus… Lloyd was happy to finally be able to put a face upon the name of the guy who made them suffering. « He is the one responsible for Marbe's mistreatments! » He thought. Next to him, Genis was fascinated by the Cardinal. He couldn't help feeling close to him. He was a Half-Elf too… Feeling guilty, Genis looked down, thinking about Rose and Marble but also about what Raine used to tell him « Remember, Genis, we are not like them, we are different. » Determined, he raised his eyes to the Cardinal.

« You violated the treaty too! You tried to kill the Chosen! »

If one of the soldier laughed, Forcystus didn't do so, preferring staring at the young boy who spoke to him so disrespectfully. He raised an eyebrow. This young boy was a Hal-Elf, what was he doing among those miserable Humans?! He closed his only eye for a little moment and smirked.

« We've prepared an appropriate opponent for your crime! »

A few seconds later, the teenage boy was faced with a deformed green creature. Its arms, which were disproportionate compared to the rest of its body, were dragged along behind it. Its lower body looked like curved paws armed with sharp claws. Its head, which kept moving in every direction, was oval-shaped, smooth, lumpless, and had in its center a golden wound that had hardly healed. The thing carried on going forward, gradually getting closer to the swordsman, whose eyes were wide open from the nightmarish sight of that repulsive beast.

« Receive your punishment! »

The monster ran to its prey, ready to tear Lloyd apart with its sharp claws. Lloyd managed to escape and prepare himself to fight back unsheathing his swords when, suddenly, a tornado appeared and threw the creature to the ground.

« _Wind Blade_! »

The swordsman took the advantage of the situation and while the monster was still a bit dizzy, riddled its body with his swords. However, it wasn't enough and, as the creature tried to protect itself by raising its long arms against its head, it ejected a powerful wave of mana which shoot Lloyd over the feet of the Cardinal. The Half-Elf crushed the young man's head against the ground and held him down as the creature began to search for its prey again.

« You see, Lloyd, Humans are nothing more but inferior beings who eat nothing but dusk. That's why, we, Half-Elves, are your masters and why we cultivate you in our Ranches. »

He gave a violent kick which threw Lloyd a few meters near the monster which was occupied fighting Genis' spells. Lloyd managed to stand back up. He could feel the blood flowing on his forehead temple and the horrible bloody taste in his mouth. « So that's the Desians'power? » he murmured. Suddenly he felt a bit ashamed of himself as he remembered how pretentious he was yesterday night when he claimed that he could defeat the organization and avenge his mother's death. And now, he was there, not even able to win over one of their creatures… How could he be powerful enough to destroy the Grand Cardinals? « So stupid! » he whispered. He gave a quick look to Genis who was still fighting. He then realized that he was not the only one to be in danger. Genis, Franck, all the villagers were in the same situation as him because of what he had done. He had to protect them! As he screamed, a glow issued from his left hand, showing to everyone what his father forbade him to show at anyone, his mother's last present: his Exsphere. It was a large marble with some blue reflections. This marble was implanted into his hand by a Key Crest - made by his father - At this moment, he could feel a new energy flowing into his veins, reviving his mana, increasing his strengths. Unable to face his new abilities, the monster collapsed on the ground.

Then, there was a moment of silence. The inhabitants seemed as surprised as the soldiers. Only the one-eyed Half-Elf seemed to be aware of what happened as he was staring at the marble with an envious look. He smiled. So that was the famous Exsphere that Kvar was craving for? If he remembered well, this particular Exsphere had been stolen by a prisoner who managed to escape Asgard Ranch. Kvar had pursued the subject for years… the subject and… Oh!

« Get him! » He ordered to his troops with a deep voice.

While the Desians approached the young man and his friend, the monster used his last strengths to stand back up and to grip the Cardinal with its arms. Immediately, the soldiers turned back, ready to help their chef.

Lloyd didn't move as he was seeing that. He didn't know what to do. The situation appeared to be insane to him. Why would their creature attack them? It was supposed to be one of the many atrocities that Colette would have to fight during her journey. So, why?!

« Run… »

« Run… Away… Genis… Lloyd… »

The blue-gray eyes of the youngest one were open wide. He finally understood what the Cardinal had meant by « appropriate opponent ». He could feel a knot into his throat as his little body was convulsing.

« M-Marble… » he screamed while he ran to her.

Lloyd managed to stop him, forcing Genis to stay away, murmuring that the monster couldn't be Marble as he tried to convince himself. « Marble! It's Marble! »

« Genis… You were… Like a grandson to me… »

The hoarse voice couldn't say more. Before no-one could do anything, the hybrid managed to concentrate all its mana before ejecting it violently against the Cardinal. Then, there was an explosion and among the screams of the one-eyed man, a small noise could be heard. It was the clear and small noise of a little marble of crystal which had fallen from the pocket of one of the soldiers who had run near his chef. No-one paid attention to it as it came next the boys. It was a small red marble like the one the old woman had on her hand yesterday. Slowly and carefully the youngest took it into his hands and examined it. It really was Marble's. The knot into his throat became more and more heavy. He had difficulty to breath. Lloyd's speech about how dangerous it was to put an Exsphere directly on the skin without a Key Crest and how dangerous it was to remove it, came back in his mind. Genis started to cry.

The attack was powerful enough to not only tear apart the creature but also to injure the Cardinal. Although he stood back up, his top had been ripped, showing his injured torso. His viscous Half-Elven blood was glued all over his wounds. Full of anger, he turned his head and spitted some blood on the soil. Then, he faced Lloyd.

« … Lloyd! We will always come after you as long as you possess that Exsphere. Always! »

O.O.O.O

Nothing could be heard except the noise of the flames destroying the rest of the destroyed houses. Within one hour, the troops had enough time to do a purge, a real massacre. Their vengeance for the violation of the non-aggression treaty had been cruel. A very few of the survivals had stayed at the place of entry of Iselia. Most of them had preferred to assess all the destructions or to bury their dead. Rose, helped by Franck, discovered that her home had been turned into ashes as her father and brother. A few miles away, a grandmother was sitting on the grass, crying the death of her son and grandchildren. In front of a small house, a husband died into the embrace of his wife. There was nothing more but lamentations in the village. When the twilight finally fall, a small injured hand got through the heaps of wood and stone. A little boy had survived the destruction of his house. His parents hadn't. As he asked with a little voice where they were, a neighbor told him that they were gone with the Angels and that he would have to be very courageous. When he asked why the soldiers had come, the adult replied that someone had done a foolish thing and that the destruction was their punishment. The little boy couldn't do nothing but cry silently on the shoulders of a woman.

Lloyd could feel the gaze of the inhabitants on him. They all wanted to know what he had done to anger Lord Forcystus like this. They were all mad at him… And this rage was logical… He could see into the eyes of the mayor all his anger, as he had done everything in order to protect his fellow citizens from the Desians' wrath by signing this Treaty even though it meant giving the Desians a huge part of their crops.

« I'm sorry. » Lloyd murmured, his eyes focusing on the ground, trying to avoid the look of the inhabitants. Some of them frowned, offended by those simple excuses which wouldn't bring their relatives back to life. A few of them were more understanding and tried to reduce the mayor's sentence, arguing that Lloyd was still a teenage boy. Hearing them, Lloyd felt even more guilty. He didn't think that his adolescence was a justification for what he had caused. Genis defended his friend by yelling that protecting themselves without even try to help the prisoners was a shame. Some of the adults responded that they couldn't do anything for the captives.

« Humans, you are all the same » as Lloyd wanted to add something, another man shouted at the little Elf. « Shut up, Genis! It's easy for you to say that! You can control the mana! You can protect yourself! We can't! We can't do anything against the Desians' violence. We just want to protect our families and ourselves! Is it wrong? » Another inhabitant came and walked with him away. During the purge, this man had lost his brother and his son.

Lloyd looked at him and finally, accepted the mayor's sentence. He had to do so. Because of him, so many people died. He had to be punished to give them justice. When the mayor had finished, all the villagers left, going back to their destroyed little town.

The young man couldn't look at the people in their eyes. He couldn't stand their gaze. He was responsible for everything, for all the deaths. He could hear the cries of the little boy who became an orphan, and those of a young widow. Keeping his head down, he couldn't help thinking about how the things would have been different if he hadn't saved Marble. Did he regret saving her? Actually, no, he didn't.

« If you are really sorry, Lloyd, go find Colette and protect her during her journey. »

« Yes, I will atone for what you said. I swear to protect Colette for the sake of those you have died because of me. »

The youngest remained silent for a while, looking his feet. Humans… They were all the same. He spit on the ground before raising his head. « I'll come with you, Lloyd! » He would stay with Lloyd wherever he goes. He also truly wanted to show to the inhabitants that not all Half-Elves were like the Desians.

« Let's go, Lloyd! »

O.O.O.O

Lord Forcystus didn't take long until he recovered from his injuries. An exbelua couldn't be strong enough to injure him seriously. The healing squad left in order to let him alone for a moment. He was in his apartments, lying on his bed shirtless, thinking about the current situation. Then, he rose up. He had to hurry, Pronyma was going to arrive. He pressed a button and then, Bradley arrived into the room to help him closing all the bells of the top of his uniform.

O.O.O.O

« So, not only Kvar's Exsphere had been turned up but also its owner is Lord Aurion's son! That's really interesting! » said the green-haired woman, sat into an armchair in Forcystus'office while he was pouring her a glass of potion. « Thanks! » She said when she took the glass « I'm exhausted! I'm so tired of Kvar! He is convinced that I'm stealing his data from him. »

« Is it true? »

Pronyma looked at the one-eyed Cardinal before smiling. « Well, only the relevant! » Forcystus couldn't hold back a mocking smile.

« Oh! By the way! Magnus congratulates you for what you have done to Iselia! Even though he still thinks that you have been too patient with the villagers. »

The green-haired man rose an eyebrow, turned around and went to one of the bay windows in order to see the prisoners working in one of the courtyards. He looked at them for a while before turning back to Pronyma, smiling at her with irony. « I hope that you are well aware that the Chosen's family lives there. I had to wait until she left with Lord Aurion and their companion before attacking! »

« She is not alone with Lord Aurion? »

« No, the town's teacher is with them… She is a Half-Elf… Rather gifted with her powers… I have seen her healing some people down there.

« A fine mess… »

They both agreed on the fact that a Half-Elf's place was among them, following Lord Yggdrasil and not in a place full of Humans. Forcystus turned back to the window. « Look at them… Wallowing, falling at any physical effort… » he murmured, bitter « When I think that there, they dominate us, despite being so weak… »

Pronyma didn't add a word. She put back the glass on the luxury desk and waited, silently.

« And Magnus? At Palmacosta? »

She opened her eyes, surprised by the question, and then, shrugged. « Well, everything is all right… Magnus had control over the town for generations… Except, of course, the little « rebellion » of the previous Governor. »

Forcystus gave a faint scowl. His question was really stupid. He knew perfectly that the situation was under control. Magnus was not an ordinary Desian. He was the Unburned from Meltokio's pogrom. He was the only one who survived - without even being hurt, the fire which had destroyed the ghetto where the Half-Elves used to live. The one-eyed man remembered the first time he had heard about the Cardinal Magnus. It was ninety years ago, Palmacosta took advantage of the death of the previous Cardinal, and started to rise. Forcystus wanted to go in the South in order to put an end to the rebellion but, before he could even leave his own Ranch, Pronyma advised him that the new Cardinal already had. To do so, he simply had burnt everything, showing how his control over the fire mana was exceptional. In only a few minutes, one of the village next to the big town was reduced to ashes - making everything and everyone burn. Knowing what would be its fate, Palmacosta surrendered without any condition. When Magnus put a foot in the town, all the most important path was in fire. No one survived. In two days, the new Cardinal had built a serious reputation across Sylvarant.

« No, nothing happened in Palmacosta. I just have to warn him about Magnus and Kvar. I don't know why but it seems that they planned something… And I don't want our Unburned to be used by them! »

Forcystus nodded. He also didn't trust neither Rodyle nor Kvar. He only hoped that Magnus would be clever enough to listen Pronyma's warnings despite his obvious envy against her position as the Leader of the Five Cardinals. He could have stood thinking for a long time if Pronyma hadn't make some noise when she stood up. She leaned against the desk. « Tell me, Forcystus, why did you refuse the post of the Leader of the Five Cardinals? »

He kept silent for a while, then smiled. He turned back again in order to observe the pathetic beings working in the courtyard.

« I've always thought that my place was among our soldiers who protect our race against those parasites… I feel at my place on the field, screaming orders to everyone. Much more than in an office, trying to deal with Kvar's ego - which you do amazingly! And… Moreover, I have to say that I like the idea of being feared by those inferior beings… You should have seen them this morning, they were terrified by my simple name. When I was about to arrive into the town, the mayor started shaking… »

As Pronyma nodded, Forcystus' attention was caught by what he saw: two guards coming back with his prey. « My dear Pronyma, I have to end our appointment! »

The woman rose an eyebrow but smiled. She didn't know exactly what was going on but she was sure of something: whoever was involved, this person would suffer a lot. She went out into the corridors, following the Ranch Lord.

O.O.O.O

The major Bradley was waiting for his Lord in a small room. As usual, his visor was pulled down, covering a large part of his face. When the Cardinal finally arrived, he bowed.

« You were right, my Cardinal, the Renegades have infiltrated our Ranch but your trap has functioned, we have captured the female agent! »

The one-eyed man nodded, thinking that he would have plenty of time to track the Renegades. For now, his priority was here, locked up in a security cell. He was smiling when he entered into the dark room, seeing nothing but a tiny body, curled up into a corner. As he got closer, he observed her. She was pathetic with her hands tied together in her back, a piece of a dark blanket covering her head, avoiding her to see something. Without any consideration, he teared the cloth, revealing her face and freeing her long curly brown hair, letting it falling on her fragile white shoulders. The young woman coughed, trying to catch her breath. She opened up her eyes, trying to figure out where she was. When she got a grip on herself, when her blue eyes fixed on Forcystus, she finally understood everything.

« So! You are the one who enjoys stealing my Exsphers? » he asked with a cheerful voice tinted with sadism. He could see in her eyes how terrified she was. Panting, she tried to keep up appearances. She was even more scared as being kneeling before him, the Cardinal seemed even more dangerous. He smiled.

« I've seen how talented dancing-girl you are! I liked your little show! »

She rose her head, looking at him, almost reassured - thinking that maybe he would not hurt her. However, before she could do anything, she felt his powerful hand grabbing her fragile neck. Without making any effort, he pulled her up and pressed her against the wall. The young woman was suffocating. She felt like her throat had been crushed. She couldn't even see the Cardinal clearly anymore. She could feel her heart panicking, she could feel her blood in her forehead temple, she could feel her lungs seeking for air, she could feel her brain turning down slowly…

« Don't think it's over! No so easily! » He grabbed her even more strongly before crushing her injured body against another wall, smashing her rib cage and letting her falling down on the floor like a rag doll. As the brown woman tried to catch her breath, he came next to her and kicked her abdomen, making her spitting some blood.

« How an inferior being like you could even think mocking a superior Half-Elf? » He looked at her as she tried to survive. Suddenly, he put his feet on her back, crushing her against the floor in order to immobilize her. « I wonder what I'm going to do with you… You are nothing more than a pawn for the Renegades… You are useless… However… » the Half-Elf murmured before kneeling before her, gazing at her with a sardonic smile. « I think I'm going let you alive for now. »

Her eyes full of tears looked at him with an interrogative look. The Cardinal rose back with a mocking smile on his lips. Then, he crushed her tibia on the floor with his feet. She moaned of agony. Then, the one-eyed man adjusted his mana. The prisoner heard a metallic noise, making her moving in order to escape. Forcystus responded to this tentative of rebellion by kicking her again. She managed to move her head and therefore, was able to see some light coming from his canon. Terrified, she curled up against the floor, closing her eyes, trying to anticipate the pain.

To his great regret, Lord Forcystus couldn't have been lulled to sleep by his prisoner's screams as she passed out, unable to cope with her sharp pain. She was lying on the floor like a damaged rag doll, her left leg being dismantled, colored with her own blood, a blood a bit sticky…

Humans really were fragile creatures… And what to be said about the little ballerinas with their glass pointes…


	4. Aftermath

Hello everyone!

Finally, I have finished my finals! After an entire year spent on European law, it's finally over – well, maybe not, depends on the marks… I can't believe I will never be up again (very) late at night trying desperately to understand the European taxations! Next year, I'm going to specialize into Law history and especially the Middle Age Law (Career? Job? Responsibilities? Meh.)

A few things about this chapter: it's kind of a serious one as I try to depict life in a quasi-medieval society ruled by the Church. I believe that if Tethe'alla is more a _Grand Siècle_ society in term of political structures and institutions (which refers mostly to the 17 century), Sylvarant is more a medieval one, organized around the Church and its precepts. This chapter is mostly a "serious" one because it's about a rape in Palmacosta (no description of course, I'm only interested in its social consequences in a pious society like the one of Sylvarant). It's also the first one to introduce the Hybrids that are the result of a relation between a Human and a Half-Elf. I never thought that a newborn which had parents from both races, could neither be a complete Human or a complete Half-Elf regarding to the difference of mana between both races. And that it would need two generations to make the Elf gene totally disappear and to have a normal Human.

Moreover, the name of the booklet _Valmy_ , is named after a newspaper written by a handful of students and professors in 1941 to spread the ideas of the Resistance. They named it _Valmy_ as it was the name of the first victory of the French Republic army against the Prussians.

Finally, the term of "dying" ( _votre mourant_ ) is an old term of the 17 century as a synonym of suitor (the term of "prisoner" was also used in the French language). I didn't say who had written that "love letter" but I think everyone can guess! :D

See you very soon! _Bisous_

* * *

It was sunshine while the two friends were walking in the direction of Triet, a fresh oasis where their friend Colette was excepted to go according to the rumors they had heard in the village they crossed. They were walking for approximatively two weeks and their foot started to hurt pretty badly. They were exhausted as they were not used to travel that far.

The little boy's fingers were playing with the tissue of the small bag – containing some rice cakes, that the old woman gave them last night. If Genis was dreaming about the delicious food, Lloyd, however, was walking with a lowered head, fixing the grass. The young man felt ashamed of himself as he remembered that the old woman told them last night that she had lost her son and her grandchild during the attack on Iselia. How many innocents people died because of him?

"I shouldn't have gone into the Ranch… I shouldn't have helped Marble…" he murmured. Nonetheless, he felt suddenly a huge amount of remorse. He remembered her, a fragile silhouette being whipped, he remembered her cries as the Desians beat her… He frowned. Yes, he felt guilty for what happened at Iselia. However, he had not regret about having rescued Marble. Everything was the Desians'fault, not his… Or so he tried to think.

Genis was following Lloyd like his shadow. The little boy tried to never looking back, knowing perfectly that it was going to be painful… He remembered his arrival in the small village with his sister, he remembered how happy he was to meet nice children and to befriend them. And now, he had to let everything: their home, his friends… He only had his memories left. He remembered how nice the inhabitants were with him, how they had welcomed Raine – the new teacher of the town, with smiles and flowers. For once in their lives, his sister and him actually felt at home. Genis could feel a knot arriving in his throat. They had to lie to everyone there… They had to tell him that they were pure Helves to be accepted. Why are Half-Elves like him always despised? He sighed. As long as the Desians existed, he could understand why Humans were so afraid of his race… In order to make them change their mind, he must prove them that all Half-Elves were not like those monsters, that most of them would never hurt a fly and that the only thing they wanted was to live in peace. And to so, the ten-year-old boy swore to himself that he would help Colette in her journey, no matter what.

They walked until twilight and, when the night had come, Genis sat down on the fresh grass while Lloyd was looking for some wood to make a fire.

"Tomorrow night, we are gonna sleep in a bed! said the youngest happily. "We are not far from the House of Salvation."

"How do you know that?" asked Lloyd while he finally managed to make a fire.

"I've heard Kratos and Raine speaking about the itinerary. Kratos said that it takes approximatively fifteen days to join it… As we have taken some detours and some tracks into the forest, we should arrive tomorrow evening."

Lloyd nodded but also sighed. He was already exhausted and they hadn't even reach the House of Salvation.

"Colette has only a day of advance, she should be in the area."

Genis shacked his head. "Doubtful. The Journey has been plans for years, everything is made to be sure that Colette reached Triest safe. I won't be surprised if they decided to make her cross some of the lands on horses… Triest is a much safer place…" he added.

"Why that? I have heard that there was a Ranch too…"

"Yes but no Cardinal! And the Desian troupes are less violent without their chief. And moreover, it's unknown if it's really a Ranch there as there is no prisoners. After all, a lot of information about the Desian organization is still unclear… Therefore, the clergy thinks that it could be more an administrative Ranch without warriors…"

Lloyd nodded. Colette would be safer in Triet desert than on the lands of Iselia where Forcystus could send some of his men at any time. The young man must admit that he was surprised to not see more of Desians. He expected that Forcystus would send his henchmen after him… After all, the Cardinal had sworn that he would chased him as long as he kept his Exsphere. When they had crossed a hamlet, he heard that there had been a new raid in the North. Lloyd was aware that among the prisoners, it was likely that there were some people from Iselia.

Genis was eating the rice cakes, near the fire. As Lloyd sat down next to him, he gave him a smile. "We have to take some strengths, Genis. Colette will need some strong friends to protect her from the Desians!"

The boy nodded, knowing that Lloyd was right. He gave his friend some of the cakes. "They are so good! If only Raine was able to cook like this!" Lloyd laughed, perfectly aware of the disastrous level of his friend's sister. Indeed, usually, Genis came at home for lunch or dinner as he enjoyed Dirk's cooking.

As they finished their meal, the brown haired man yawned, slowly falling asleep. Close to him, Genis was already dreaming, his head on his friend's knees. Lloyd patted his head and yawned again. Finally, he laid down on the grass. Yes, he had to take a rest as he would need all of his strengths in order to protect Colette, to avenge his mother and to kill Forcystus.

O.O.O.O

The Seraph was standing here, silently. His green eyes were looking at the small sleeping body. The child was finally asleep. After a few moments, he looked up and began to contemplate the snow falling from the window. The Angel seemed to be far away from this little room. Suddenly, a lot of lost memories came back… He started to remember Asgard, the beginning of the Great War… He remembered quite well the night he had left his town. It was after a huge attack of the Sylvarant army and there were a lot of corps laying down on the streets. So many corps that all the mud was tainted with red. He remembered how he had to step over them. Did he know them? He wasn't sure yet… Maybe. His memory was not functioning well. The Angel turned his head when he heard that someone was entering into the room.

"I bring you something to eat for dinner, Sir" said a soft, intimated voice.

Yuan gave her a quick look. He saw her fine arms covered of scars, her old greenish nightgown. She was standing before him with a candle in her left hand and a wooden bowl of soup in her right. Her green hair was done into two braids which were long enough to fall over her nonexistent breast.

"I don't need it, Pronyma. Keep it for yourself."

She gave him back a severe look as if he had insulted her. With her small, tired, grey eyes she was looking at him with scorn. She didn't reply and remained silent for a while. She finally put the bowl on a table and came over the bed where the child was lying. "How is she?"

Yuan said nothing but patted the cheek of the brunette child. "She is better. The _First Aid_ spells seem to appease her. However, she would still need some rest and sleep but I can assume that her life is no longer in danger."

The young woman nodded. "Could you teach me the _First Aid_?" The Angel raised an eyebrow but didn't respond to her at first. He preferred to focus on the child, patting her cheeks again and again. Finally, he looked at her again. "Why do you want to learn mana spells, Pronyma?"

The young woman fingered her green braids. "I need it. I need it to cure the others… I have to help Lilly… And as Forcystus keeps harming himself by falling everywhere… And as you see, Milly needs…"

"How do you know her name?"

Pronyma had a surprised look. She didn't know what was going on with this guy. "She murmured it, once before losing consciousness again…" Pronyma was a bit confused. It was hard for her to think that this man – who as a member of Cruxis had a lot of blood on his hands, could feel some compassion towards an innocent young child. Maybe she reminded him of someone, someone he had loved? She couldn't tell. "It's for her and the others children that I want to learn the _First Aid_ and others healing spells."

Yuan looked at her. He didn't seem concerned at all. She felt a knot into her throat and lower her head. Finally, he had a malicious smile. "You remind me of someone, Pronyma. Someone who has the same name as yours."

The young woman didn't know exactly why but she began to have the creeps. She coughed and started stamping her feet. "Pronyma is a very common first name among female Half-Elves from the island of Altamir… I'm sure you have plenty of Pronyma among your ranks."

She raised her eyes to be sure to meet his. She wanted him to understand her determination and most of all, she wanted him to stop talking about _that horrible woman._ Yuan continued to smile maliciously as he didn't care. None of them wanted to look down but suddenly, they got distracted as someone else was coming into the room.

"Pronyma, go to bed, it's late."

The young woman had no choice but to obey and leaved the room without a regard for Yuan. The newcomer walked to the bed and enlightened the child's face thank to her candle.

"So you are still here, my dear Yuan. I'm gonna start thinking that you want to become a boarder."

Lilly looked at him with joyful eyes behind her glasses. "However, unfortunately, we don't have enough space, therefore I'm afraid that I won't be able to welcome with all the honors due to your rank."

The Seraph didn't bother reply to her as he continued to pat Milly's brown hair. The woman sighed and shrugged. Then, she sat near the little girl and, with a suspicious but grave look, interrogated the holy being. "What is a Great Seraph of Cruxis doing here in a miserable house like ours?"

The bleu-haired man didn't answer. He didn't even look back at her. Suddenly, he cleared his throat. "Some memories."

She rolled her eyes, exasperated by his respond. "Good ones? Bad ones? I really need to know what Yuan Ka-Fai is doing into my colony."

It seemed that Lilly got a point as he finally reacted by closing his fist. Then, he gave her a serious look which was not announcing something good. He couldn't stand to hear his name from this insolent mouth of hers. He looked at her scornfully, despising her with all his force.

"I would like to know what Elizabeth Hale is doing here, ruling a colony of Half-Elves… After all, the Hales are well-known for their behavior towards Half-Elves…"

Even though she was really ill-at-ease about having her real identity revealed, she took his argument very seriously and nodded respectfully. The Angel had taken a very sinister voice. To make sure to face him, she raised and confronted him. Yuan had now a mocking smile on his lips.

"Knowing you real identity is not difficult for anyone who has access to the good files. So tell me, what was your plan? To raise them in order to change them into nice slaves, fully obedient to each of your orders… You'll have enough of them to work into your mines."

Lilly started to boil over. "How you dare"

Yuan shrugged. "You really thought that disappearing for ten years was the solution? Did you really think that the registers managed by the Church of Martel were useless? You are naïve, or to be honest, you were a very naïve teenager."

He said those sentences with a honeyed voice, showing how much he was delighted about the current situation. This Human had dared to question him, a millennium being and now, she was the one who had to justify her actions. He continued to look at her with this mocking smile. "The registers of noble families from Tethe'alla are kept at Welgaia. I've been informed of everything concerning you." He paused for a moment and then added "oh, according to your astonished eyes, I can guess that you were not aware of all the administration that the Cruxis had put in place at Sylvarant and Tethe'alla… That's a pity to see that Elderine didn't train you as well as she could have."

Hearing the name of her friend and mentor was hard enough for Lilly who lowered her head and sighed. She passed a finger into her ginger hair to calm down. "There is no need to continue this conversation, Yuan. I won't dare anymore to ask you anything. The only thing I need to know is to be sure that you won't do anything to us, that you will keep secret this place."

He didn't move a finger and continue to look at her scornfully with his piercing eyes. "I am the one in charge of Tethe'alla. I'm perfectly aware of the existence of your little association, since it exists. I can assure you one thing: its funders were real amateurs. They were not fully aware of the control of the Cruxis over this pitiful world. If I wanted to do something to the children, I assure you that this place would be a total ruin."

When the Seraph had finished talking, he went back to the bed to take care of the young girl. Lilly rolled her eyes. She didn't know what to think about his speech. Even though he claimed to not be their enemies and that he didn't care about their association, Lilly couldn't forget that he was one of the people who created the Cruxis, the Human Ranches… She had to be very careful. Suddenly, she noticed how kind he was with the child. Alike Pronyma, she didn't find disgusting to see him taking care of the injured girl, she found it reassuring because as long as he would act like that, he would not be their enemy… At least, she hoped.

O.O.O.O.O

A group of young men came into a large shop situated into the main avenue of the city. If this place was famous for all its products such as the Palma potion, nowadays the displays were almost empty. Some minutes later, a young woman with brown hair done in a ponytail arrived and stood behind the counter and smiled to them.

"Hi! What can I do for you?"

Chocolat smiled as they told her what they needed and gave them the apple gels they had asked. When they left the shop, Chocolat was left alone there, into the old family shop where her grandmother and her mother used to work before everything happened. First, the Desians took her grandma, then, her father was captured during a riot, and finally, because of her stupid behavior, her mother was hanged by Magnius, the Grand Cardinal of the local Human Ranch. That was why, at the age of seventeen, she had to take care of the shop, the only remain of her family. Her brown eyes looked at the roof dreamily, lost in her thoughts, the young woman didn't move for some minutes. However, soon enough, she noticed that something was wrong: everything was silent. And that was the problem: normally Palmacosta was always noisy, the streets being full of people, but not since the costumers had left the shop. The only thing she was perfectly aware of was that it was not a good sign. Something bad was happening. She frowned and a few moments later, some Desian soldiers came into the shop.

Chocolat didn't move, staying calm behind her counter. She inhaled. "What do you want?" she asked in a severe voice.

"Some Palma potion, and quick!"

She looked at them and then, turned, took a few bottles of the potion and posed them on the counter. "It's one thousand Golds per bottle" she said with a plate but firm voice.

She could feel their Captain glaring at her with a cruel look. Her heart started pounding quickly as she could easily guess what the Half-Elf had in mind.

"We are going to need another report, I suppose."

A knock into her throat appeared and it was so heavy that she had difficulties to gulp. "It's one thousand per bottle. It's the market price."

The Captain grumbled and then, put some golden and bronze coins on the counter, before the young woman. Chocolat took them and finally, gave the bottle to the Desians.

"You really should to change your attitude, little Human, otherwise, you'll be the next one" said the chief with threatening eyes and a grin.

When she was finally left alone in the shop, Chocolat opened a wooden box full of biscuits and ate one of them. However, her break time didn't last long as someone came through. She smiled as she re-opened the box.

"Hi, Louis! I knew you were a bit late for your after-school snack!" she told the blond little boy "Take one!"

The named Louis stood on tip-toe as he gripped a biscuit and ate it with delight. "Why were you so late? Don't tell me you were afraid of the Desians!"

The little boy couldn't do anything but nod. Even though he felt ashamed, he had to admit that the Desians scared him. Every time he has seen them, something bad happened and someone disappeared and never came back. He did a grimace and looked at Chocolat. "Don't forget that we are not alone. We have an army! We have the Governor Door to protect us. Don't be ever afraid of them!"

The boy listened carefully and finally nodded once again and even asked for another biscuit. While he was savoring the pastry, another man entered into the shop. He was a brown-messy-haired hair man with a short size, dressed with a black pant, a large white shirt, some boots and finally a bag made of sheepskin. The newcomer blinked and smiled at the young woman as Louis decided to let them together.

"Hi, Chocolat! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks! What about you, Riss? "

Her friend walked towards Chocolat, patted Louis's head. "I'm fine!" With his index finger he put back on his nose his glasses which had fallen a bit, making Chocolat to see that his hand was covered with ink.

"So, you continue?"

"Yeah, of course! The next edition is coming!"

Chocolat smiled as he rubbed his forehead – putting some ink on it by the same occasion. It has been a few months that Riss had joined the rebellion against the Desians. To fight against them, he didn't use any weapon, instead, he used quills, inkpots, booklets and ink pads. _Valmy_ – it was the name he had given to his work, was a volume of texts written by members of the rebellion. Those texts could be as well some real political texts as popular songs which encouraged the people to fight and also some caricatures. Nevertheless, if the principal target remained the Desians, the authors also critiqued the Church of Martel – and sometimes even contested the existence of the Goddess.

Chocolat must admit that reading those pamphlets had helped her. Indeed, for quite a long time, she had stop believing in Martel. Where was this Goddess when the Desians captured her father and her grandmother? Where was she when Magnius decided to hang her mother for a "crime" she didn't commit? And if this Goddess existed, her inaction was even worst… Her rage was boiling inside her; she could feel her guts being knotted.

"He, Chocolat, calm down."

Her brown eyes met his, she shrugged. "I'm thinking about my grandma, my mom..."

Her friend smiled at her and toke her into his arms. "Don't worry, Chocolat. We will be together; we will defeat them!" Chocolat answered his hug as she grabbed his shirt.

Chocolat remained here, in his embrace for a little while. She knew Riss for several years as she had met him when he arrived at Palmacosta after running away from the massacre of his hometown – a small village near Izoold. He had lost his mother and his sister during a raid of the Cardinal Rodyle's soldiers. Therefore, his very first caricature published in _Valmy_ represented Rodyle under water screaming some orders to the fishes. This drawing had been the first one of a series of humoristic portraits of Rodyle as Riss always published a new one when there was a new edition.

"Do you come tonight at the White Seagull? Everyone is coming!"

The young woman nodded happily. The White Seagull was a famous tavern situated in the port. It was a very popular place among Palmacosta's young people. All the social classes met there, from the humble servants to the students of the Academy. Chocolat and her friends loved to go there and dance to the rhythm of the lyre and the vielle. For a moment, they were freed from the Desians, freed from the pain and the despair.

She looked at him and winked. "I'll be there."

"That's great! Violette is also coming but… you know…"

The smile on Chocolat's lips disappeared as she took a serious look. She sighed and, trying to comfort him told him that she would do anything in her power to make sure that their friend had a good time tonight.

When Riss finally went out the shop, Chocolat remained alone and sat on the stairs. She had known Violette for five years – as her father was a peasant who provided the shop with apples and pears. There were nice people, living their life in their farm, far away from the rebellion. However, a few weeks ago, pretending that there were some escapees hiding, the Desians decided to ravage all the farms and the hamlets near Palmacosta, destroying their houses, their crops and even killing some innocents.

The last time she had seen Violette was at the Cathedral. Her friend was there, sitting on a wooden bench. Chocolat couldn't forget what she had seen that day. Violette was dressed with rags tainted with her own blood and, slowly, with a white handkerchief, tried to appease her wounds. Someone had given her many hits on her face. Chocolat remembered that she had run to her but Violette didn't move. She didn't want anyone to get close to her except the old nun who helped her with her injuries. She didn't speak to Chocolat; she didn't even give her a look.

Riss's oldest sister, Jane, worked at the Church. She gave Violette's friends some news. Chocolat learnt that their friend lived in a monastery cell in the convent near the Cathedral among the nuns.

O.O.O.O

Nigh had fallen upon Sylvarant for an hour. As she was looking at the landscapes from the window of the House of Salvation, Raine tried to distinguish the shadows of the hills delimitating the region of Iselia. Very soon they will feel the desert's effects on their body, therefore, she was enjoying the fresh breeze of the evening. Genis… She crossed her arms against her breast to comfort herself. It had been two weeks since she left and she already missed him deeply. In order to escort Colette during her journey, she had made a huge sacrifice as she never had been separated from her brother in her entire life. She had been the one who helped him when he learned to walk. She had been the one who cleaned him when he used to bed-wetting. She had been the one who comforted him when he was hurt or scared. Leaving him behind had been a horrible trial. However, she sincerely hoped that he would understand why she had to lie to him, why she had to let him.

"Professor?"

She turned back and smiled as Colette entered into the bedroom they shared. The blond girl sat on the bed and looked at the grey eyes of the oldest. She knew perfectly that because of her, the Professor had left her brother at Iselia and couldn't even kiss him goodbye.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered softly.

The oldest frowned and sat close to her, patting her shoulders. "No, Colette, no. We have done the right choice. Lloyd and Genis are both hotheaded, I'm pretty sure that they would have tried to come with us. Instead of risking their life, I'm convinced that they are under Dirk's care." Raine stopped and patted Colette's cheek. "Don't worry anymore, Colette."

Colette nodded reassured. This decision had been hard enough to make and knowing that Raine may had some resentment towards her would have been even more awful. She had always think of the professor as an older sister. Indeed, the blond girl had always come to her when things became a bit hard to handle. Sometimes it had been easier to talk with the Elf than with her strict grandma. Since she was young, she had always felt that there was a barrier between her human family and herself. For a long time, she had thought that it was normal as she wasn't really a human being however, meeting Lloyd, Genis and Raine had weaken her theory as she never felt such a barrier when she was with them. It seemed that there was something wrong in her human family, something that had made very difficult for them to express their emotions or their love for each other. On the other hand, Raine had been very kind, very gentle to her as a grand sister would have been.

"Colette, you should go to sleep. You are going to need a lot of strength: Triet is still far and we don't have the horses anymore."

She nodded, listening to her with a smile. She had to admit that she was glad that Raine was a member of her journey. Originally, it was some special priests that had this holy mission but as they all died during the attack at the Temple of Martel, the Church decided to hire this mercenary and to accept a lay person like Raine by her side. Her coming had enjoyed Colette as she much preferred being with her than with strict priests with who she couldn't share her anxiousness or her fear.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of their bedroom before entering. It was the mercenary, Kratos. Raine looked at him, seeing that he was putting back his violet mitts and his cape. Raine frowned.

"There is a problem, Kratos?"

"We need to leave; I've heard that there is a patrol of Desian coming near the House."

His ton was serious but showed no stress as if he handled the situation perfectly. The Professor must admit that his calm and his control over himself was impressing.

"Raine, go down into the kitchen to ask for food. We will need some during the journey. Tell them that it is for the Chosen."

Raine jumped. She was really surprised. Surprised by the fact that she didn't take this initiative but also by the fact that he had given her an order. Blushing, she quickly left the room.

Meanwhile, Colette was putting together her very few belongings and then, stood next to the bed. Kratos, on the other hand, was just against the wall, waiting for the Professor to come back. The girl noticed that the mercenary never looked her in the eyes and – maybe, avoided to look at her as if something was disturbing him.

"You are really strong, mister Kratos! All those things you know! You are like a Guardian Angel!" she said, smiling to him.

O.O.O.O

It was only after a few hours of walk among a forest that Kratos let the trio paused, finding the place safe enough. As he let Raine and Colette assemble the tent and telling them to not do a fire, he went to the undergrowth and started to chase something to eat for diner. Finally, he saw two little rabbits. With ease, he slaughtered them with his sword, cleared out their guts and removed their fur. As he was far from their camp, Kratos concentrated, made some moves and casted _Lightening_ to grill them before coming back.

"Oua! How did you cook them?!" asked the blond girl as she took the rabbit that the mercenary offered her.

"I simply use a sort, that's all." He answered with a shrug and a platonic tone.

Raine frowned as she looked at the grilled rabbit. It was true that he could manipulate the Mana easily like the Elves or the Half-Elves. She had witnessed his ability during their battles. But how a Human could do that?

"You can cast some spells?" she asked with a doubtful voice.

His brown eyes looked at her, scrutinizing her face and expressions. Slowly, he nodded. He knew perfectly that lying to her would be a terrible mistake as she had some influence over the Chosen. Moreover, he knew that she could feel the Mana. He watched her while she was frowning again.

"It's my Exsphere, it gives to me more powers than an ordinary Human." He added "I've stolen it to a Desian general. Its powers are very useful for someone who goes on a dangerous journey."

Raine nodded slowly as she remembered Dirk telling her the same thing about those particular spheres. However, the Dwarf only mentioned some physical effects such as suppleness, speed, strength... He never spoke about casting some spells. Maybe his Exsphere was special? After all he seemed to be very powerful. He could have indeed stolen it to a chief Desian.

"Remember the Day of the Oracle? At the Temple of Martel? Some of the Desians called you by your name. Do you know them?"

If the Professor had not participated at the fights as she was healing some priests, Genis had told her about this mysterious mercenary called Kratos who was so strong that even Desians knew his name.

"Let's say that we have met a few times… I'm a mercenary, Raine, I'm used to protect some refugees of the Human Ranches… The Ranch of Asgard in particular…"

Raine looked at him closely. She was surprised by the tone of his last sentence. He had lowered his head, his auburn hair hiding his face. It was the first time since they started to travel together that she had seen him like this: seeming weak. She guessed that something bad happened to him in this Ranch… Maybe he had lost someone he loved? Maybe he had been a subject to Kvar's tortures? However, as she didn't want to be rude, she put her look into the contemplation of the flames of the fire. The cracklings of the fire and the quiet breathing of a sleepy Colette were lulled her. Raine's eyelids became heavier and she tried to hide her yawns.

"Sleep, I'll do the lookout."

She raised her head and looked back at him. His proposition was tempting. However, she held herself back and asked "But what about you? You are always the one who does the lookout. You are not tired? I can stay awake, you know."

Her clear eyes met the brown ones and it seemed to her that a shadow of anxiety passed through his eyes. She frowned. Moreover, as he stood up, his look became scornful making her regretting even more to have suggested that. Finally, a little smile appeared on his lips. Did she make him laugh?

"I'm used to this kind of missions. My body adapted itself to my way of life. Therefore, I don't need to sleep as much as you to be all right. On the other hand, I'm not sure that you have left Iselia that much, right? You must have had a peaceful life before going to this journey."

Kratos 'sentence had an odd effect on Raine because she could feel a knot in her throat and the blood pulsing in her ears. "No, I've traveled for a long time with my younger brother! I've even lived at Palmacosta with him." She responded angrily and rapidly as if she wanted him to shut up.

The mercenary raised an eyebrow.

"If you want to do the lookout, be my guest!"

And finally, the young woman laid on the grass, under the tent with Colette, sleeping by her side as she continued to feel her heart beating fast.

O.O.O.O

Laughs, songs could be heard in the Aristocratic District of the capital this night. All the guests were enjoying some incredible meals around an amazing wooden table. There were some chaudfroids, some fatted chickens, some galantines of lamb, some bouillons and lots of vegetables and exotic fruits. There was also a lot of red wine heading everyone. Among all those people celebrating, no one noticed a young blond woman standing against a wall, dressed with a fabulous gown made of blue taffeta. She was the definition of beauty with her little nose, her blond curly hair, her pink cheeks and her big blue eyes. She really was a vision – seeming as beautiful as an Angel. And yet, she stood alone. One of her friend – less pretty, came at her, worried about seeing her like that.

"Alice? Is something wrong?"

Alice gave a sad look to her friend who was patting her right arm with a white-gloved hand.

"It's nothing, Heloise, don't worry…"

She frowned and readjusted her glasses on her nose doubtfully. She passed a hand on her neck to touch the necklace of pearls that her mother had loaned to her as it matched perfectly with her white gown made of organza.

All the nobles had fabulous clothes for this evening as it was an important celebration: it was the anniversary of the Great Repression. One hundred and twenty years ago, the King Louis XI with his army crushed the rebellion of the Half-Elves. To punish those despicable beings, he ordered to slaughter any opponent in the ghettos of Meltokio and Ozette and the despoliation of all their belongings. The massacres were so bloody that the people used to say that the river of the capital, Irtysh, became red for ten days due to the corps thrown in its water. In one word: it was a great party and all the distinguished people were invited to celebrate this date at the Duc de Broy's property who was famous for his parties. This noble who had the privilege of being well-birthed, was also a very rich man as he made a fortune with the silk trade.

"Come! The orchestra is going to start to play! And Henry promised me a waltz!"

Without any energy, Alice followed her friend near the magnificent ball room where Heloise let her when she went dancing with this blond noble. Therefore, she stood against the buffet and ate an amuse-bouche. Suddenly, a butler arrived, kneeled before her.

"Lady Alice O'rwell?"

She nodded and then, the butler gave her a little white envelope in which there was a letter. The young noble thanked the butler and went through the holes and the corridors, went upstairs and, in a small boudoir, stayed near a window in order to read the letter at the moonlight.

 _Alice,_

 _My dear little rosebud,_

 _Know that your beauty, your brilliance touched the heart of the poor man that I am._

 _I know that the passion they have provoked in me, frighten you, you who are so pious with a heart so pure and generous._

 _I was wrong to be kinky, succumbing too easily to the delights of the flesh. My soul is troubled now._

 _That is why, my dear Alice, I beg you, kneeling, to kindly tolerate my company, that your kindness and piety put me in the right way, otherwise I can not submit myself entirely to the task the Goddess entrusted to me._

 _Yours dying_

The innocent girl whined while she pressed the letter against her breast before fixing it again in order to memorize each word, each sentences. This poor little soul was tormented by the passion she had created – against her will, in one particular man. She didn't know what to do. She felt surrounded by her own feelings, by her innocence, by the honor of her family and the education she had received, but also by the courting of this man. She felt imprisoned by her innocence, by her faith... Alice was really pious therefore, all the allusions of the religious mission of the Chosen in this letter had weaken her. What should she do? Maybe she should give in to this man's whishes? Seeing someone didn't mean having something more with this person. Nervously, she touched her golden brooch.

" _There is nothing more pleasant than seeing a pious woman surrendered shedding tears of repentance_."

She remembered his soft voice whispering this sentence in her ear. She started to shake. She came from a poor but ancient noble family of the Toizent Continent and had never been confronted to a man's courting. She didn't know what to do and didn't even dare to speak about that with her confessor. What would he think of her? That she was a little debauched girl who distracted the Son of the Angels from his holy mission? Her reputation would be doomed. Thinking about that made her shake even more. She was ashamed of this situation but she was also ashamed that she did want to succumb, she did want to go in the arms of the Chosen. Maybe that was normal? After all, the Chosen was an Angel, therefore, the closer of him she got, the closer of the Goddess she was.

Hearing a noise, she jumped. Someone came into the dark boudoir. She gulped as she was still able to recognize the newcomer. Ô Martel, he was truly too handsome for a Human with his long red hair turned into a large braid, with his size, with his bearing and with his mesmerizing blue eyes. Kindly, he took her right hand and gave her a perfect hand-kissing, making her poor heart melting.

"My little rosebud" he whispered.

His voice had a timbre seeming like a death-knell for her resistance. Without any force, she let herself slide in his embrace, surrendering to carnal frissons.

O.O.O.O

The traveler was exhausted from running away in all the directions in order to distract those Desians. When she finally stopped, on the top of a little hills, far away from Luin, she breathed heavily, trying to regain some energy. As she was resting, she could smell the fresh odor of the wet grass and, while she was trying to clean up a bit her clothes, she appreciated the feeling of the rain falling on her.

Everything happened so fast. First she had been convoked to an audience with the King himself, then she learnt about a strange another world far away from Tethe'alla, then they put on her hand a strange sphere called Exsphere – when she had always thought that Exspheres were only for machines and not for Humans, and finally, she had been told to kill the Chosen of this world in order to make sure that her world would continue to prosper. Definitely a lot of information to get in a few minutes.

The only thing she had perfectly understood was that if she didn't success her mission, Tethe'alla would suffer the same path that this world. She could easily imagine the Desians walking over Meltokio, or Syback or even Mizuho, killing every opponent, destroying the cultures, provoking some famines… Like they were doing here… She felt a knot into her throat. In order to keep her own world safe, she had to sacrifice this one…

"Sheena? Sheena?"

The young woman turned her head and on her right shoulder a little animal appeared. It seemed to be like a hybrid of a fox and a guinea pig with several rain bowed tails. With its muzzle, it poked Sheena's right cheek.

"What are you thinking of, Sheena?" asked the little one with a soft voice.

Ill-at-ease, the woman laughed as she passed one of her hand into her short black hair. Wiggling a lock of hair around her fingers, she started to blush a little. "I was thinking about the very few information that we have about the target… We only know that she had long blond hair, is quite small with big blue eyes…" She pouted. "I hope that she wears her Cruxis crystal as a necklace… If she doesn't it is going to be rather difficult…" Sheena had already seen a Cruxis crystal thank to the Stupid-Chosen's younger sister but she didn't wear it and kept it in a small box like a little brooch.

"If we fail, Corrine, it would be terrible for everyone…" Well, everyone except those of lived at Sylvarant of course… The black haired woman rolled her eyes in despair. She couldn't forget what she had seen in Luin, all those tiny children, running away when they heard some strange noises as if they were excepted to be killed in a few minutes… She couldn't forget the poverty, the hunger of all those inhabitants who, despite all that, had taken care of her when she had arrived. They didn't deserve to be at the mercy of a guy like Kvar…She didn't think that anyone would deserve such fate.

"Don't worry, Sheena! We are going to make it!"

The woman smiled to her pet as Corrine licked her noise and patted her neck with its muzzle. Sheena smiled. "We must, Corrine. If we don't, the Stupid-Chosen would be our last hope…"

When she had rested enough and made her clothes look cleaner, she decided to walk in the direction of the isthmus. When they would have passed over the isthmus, they would be on the other continent and would have to wait for their target near the seal of Fire.

O.O.O.O

They had run and hidden for hours as some Desians patrols had been looking for them in the area. Hidden in the forest, Lloyd grinned as he heard the soldiers going back to their Ranch. Because of them, Genis and him had to make some detours on the road to the House of Salvation.

"Lloyd! Come and see who I have found!" claimed a soft voice into the woods.

Furiously, the young man jumped out of his hiding place and went through the forest in order to find their camp. "Genis! Never scream like this! Imagine what could have happened if they had heard you!"

The youngest gave him a little smile in order to appease his wrath and as Lloyd finally calmed down, he noticed who was standing near his friend. "Noish!"

Forgetting what he just told Genis, Lloyd couldn't do anything but screaming his pet's name while he patted his fur gently with his gloved hands. "Oh, Noish! You managed to find us!" The odd dog licked his master's face and pocked his shoulders with its muzzle.

Later, as they were laid down on the grass against the pet, Lloyd noticed that Genis seemed to be asleep. His eyes were fixing the fire and then looked at the dark sky of the night. He was sure that they were getting closer to Colette and Raine. He was impatient to see her, to hug her and to finally give her the necklace he had done for her birthday.

Everything seemed different during the night. It was as if the nature itself was resting. He blinked several times and inhaled as he looked back at the sky, fixing one star. Each time he looked at the stars, he could feel a knot into his throat as he wanted to cry but didn't know why. Did his mother and _the other guy_ used to do it with him when he was a toddler?

"Mommy…" he whispered.

The silent was heavier as he tried to look for a soul who was surely resting in peace. He really wanted to cry now.

"My mother abandoned me…"

His brown apples went on his friend who was suddenly awake. Lloyd was a bit surprised as Genis never spoke about his parents with him. He had almost forgotten that Raine wasn't Genis 'mother.

"She had the same eyes as Raine…"

Genis had said this sentence with a much too calm voice who disappeared in an echo in the night. Lloyd hugged him even more.

"Don't worry, Genis. We are gonna be together, like before!"

The youngest closed his eyes and smiled. That was why he felt at ease at Iselia. Because of the first time he had the impression of being accepted, of having found his place. Finally, his sister and himself had had sincere friends. They could have told them the truth… Here, lost in the forest, Genis could have told Lloyd his painful secret, he could have but he didn't dare. The Desians had killed his mother, some Half-Elves had made him suffering… Genis lowered his head.

O.O.O.O

Chocolat had put her blue muslin dress. It was a beautiful dress with some amazing sleeves. Her grandma had made this dress for her granddaughter when she went outside to festivals or to ceremonies. The old lady had always wanted to see her with a fiancé – a gentle man who could take care of her. Carefully, she took her hairbrush and let her hair down with only a blue ribbon. She remembered how her grandma used to pet her hair softly, telling how beautiful it was.

She wrapped herself into a heavy and warm cape in order to brave the cold of the night. The weather had become awful. Before going outside, the young woman put a candle into a lantern to have some light. Then, she finally left the shop, closed it and went in the streets of the town following the music.

When she opened the door of the cavern she coughed as a withe smock arrived to her nostrils. A waitress who was holding some meals into her hands, winked to her and told her with a smile "Problem with fire! The soup burnt." Chocolat nodded as she was looking her friends among the customers. She stumbled a little as her mind get lost thank to the smell of the alcohol and the musical notes of the orchestra. She was standing there, between two long wooden tables where a ten of people were eating a meal and enjoying themselves. Suddenly, she could hear her name coming from a small table, near a window, a part from the rest of the tables.

They were – almost, all here. Riss, sat near the window, was speaking with another young stocky brown-haired man named Vall. He had almost given a hit to another friend sitting at his right whose name was Gregor and who was just eaten his bite of bread while listening to them. When she rejoined them, Jane, Riss's sister welcomed her with a warm smile. Chocolat sat on the same wooden bench as her and was in front of Vall as Jane was in front of her brother.

"I hope Violette will come tonight" she whispered to Jane when she was drinking a glass of water.

Jane frowned and responded to her with a soft voice "I doubt it, Chocolat…"

"Why?"

"Chocolat, Violette is going to take the black veil…"

Chocolat couldn't breath as her heart started pulsing. "It has really happened?" she asked her friend with a trembling voice. Jane waited a few seconds and then, silently nodded.

"Who did that to her?"

Jane looked at her for a moment which forced Chocolat to explicit her question "Was it Magnius?"

Jane violently shacked her head "No, are you crazy! No! It was a mere soldier… Actually, she doesn't remember much… She just remembers him insulting her while… you know…"

Chocolat lowered her head, frighten and despair for Violette. There was a huge knot into her throat. She could feel her nails sinking into her palms. She only wanted to find that soldier and to make him suffer as much as Violette had.

"Desians are monsters… What did we do to them that they treat us so badly?" Jane murmured.

Chocolat remained silent for a few moments. There were too much things to think about: the black veil, the rape, Violette's sufferings…

"Everything happened quickly when she finally admitted that she had been raped by a Desian… The Church of Martel has taken her in charge… The nouns have given her some abortive plant in order to make sure that there won't be any… you know… any Hybrid. Then, they gave her a cell in the convent… She is officially taking the black veil in a few days…"

The black veil was a terrible sign… It was used to recover the body of the women who had gone through this particularly horrible act, as if they had to be ashamed of what happened to them, as if they were the culprit. Those women were locked away in the churches, temples and Houses of Salvation to do all the housework as the clergy thought it was the only solution to purify them.

"Violette told me she had preferred rather to die that day…" added Jane slowly.

Chocolat could hear those words resonating into her ears. Dying… It meant putting an end to the existence, it meant never going forward… She gulped and was silent for a few moments. Then, she looked up her eyes and saw that Riss and Vall were still debating furiously on the next issue of _Valmy_ – a way to avoid to speak about Violette's situation.

"I assure you that there is something strange at the Governor's mansion! According to my sources, there is an embezzlement of the taxes of the town!"

"Of course there is! It goes to the purchase of weapons for the City Guards!" Vall responded almost immediately.

Riss shacked his head and after giving a quick look behind him to be sure that he was not listened, he said, whispering to his friends "No! Several nights, I hide in the port and I saw no shipment of weapons from Triet, nothing! When I tried to speak with Neil about that, he seemed rather ill-at-ease! Something bad is planning in this mansion!"

"Riss, you are crazy! Dorr loves Palmacosta! If the town is still up it's thank to him! Without him, the Desians would have destroyed it right away!" Vall answered with an angry voice.

"He's right, Riss! My dad was a member of the City Guards, remember? He is dead while fighting against the Desians! We didn't get any benefice if it's that you have in mind, Riss!" Chocolat suddenly decided to take a part in their conversation as she was getting furious of what her Riss was trying to demonstrate. "My father took up arms to protect his city and his family while you are just writing some silly things in a poor rubbish paper that are dividing us!"

She could feel a ten of eyes observing her with surprise. She had lost control, had yelled at him and was there, standing alone. "The Desians are bastards! We mustn't weaken! We must fight against them!" She had screamed again. Her friends were looking at her. They were waiting for her next scream. The other customers were back on their meal and didn't bother to look at the group anymore.

"And we must survive!" she added with a much calmer voice. She took back her cape, put it on and went out. The door slammed violently. Outside, the small breeze made her shiver as she gripped her cape against her body in order to get warmer. She went slowly on the quays seeing the waves crushing on the pontoon. She shivered even more. Coming her, remembered her so many things. She remembered coming here with her grandma, the old lady showing her which sea food in the great market, she remembered accompanying her mother, helping her to do the shopping for the shop. Before an amazingly great steamship, she could even remember being on her father's shoulders, waiting to see boats coming from all over the world.

Lost in her memories, she didn't hear Jane approaching. She slowly passed her arm against the shoulder of the brunette who welcomed this embrace.

"Riss is an idiot… Please, forgive him. He's stupid… Since he has started to "investigate" he sees some plots everywhere. We don't know who to trust, you know. There are so many traitors, so many monsters. Desians, of course, but also the Fallen, Hybrids and even Half-Elves… So many to corrupt us… Some many people are greedy enough to collaborate with the Desians to get more money. If we don't want to end up in a Ranch, we must not believe anyone. That's basically what he thinks." She paused for a while after adding "He always says that everybody lies."

Chocolat turned her head and looked at her friend. "And you? What do you believe, Jane?"

Jane gave a look at the sea, lowered her head. "Riss makes fun of me but, I believe in the Church of Martel. I believe in its message. I believe that to be safe from the Desians, we have to obey to the Cruxis, we must embrace the religion of the Goddess… You know, when the priest reads the verses during the Mass, I can feel my heart beating violently as if it responded to the Seraphs 'call."

There was a pause. Then, she cleared her throat. "I know you think that the Goddess sentenced your mother and your grandmother, but I strongly believe She didn't… The day your mother was hanged, I cried a lot in the church and – even though I know it's hard to believe but, I swear I could feel the look of one of the Seraphs' statue on me. This day, I felt their look full of love. I know that the Angels are fighting the Desians as hard as they can! Their forces are getting weaker because of the society's deprivation and because there are less offerings. If we don't believe enough, how could them defeat the evil influence of Magnius…"

The brunette didn't answer as Jane patted her back gently. "You know, Chocolat, we can try to see Violette. I know that her room has a small window which gives onto the garden of the convent. We should go by the _Cat Fishing_ lane."

In thirty minutes, the two friends were in this very small street. One of the walls composing this street was also the outer wall of the garden. When they were before it, Jane pointed a window. "See? It's here. But I doubt we could talk to her…"

Chocolat scrutinized the tiny window, desperately looking for her friend. Violette was used to go to be very late as she watched the stars with her father. Did she give up her old habits to adopt the rhythm of the nouns? Chocolat frowned.

"Wait! Watch that!"

Chocolat looked at her friend with surprise as she saw her running in the direction of the entrance of the church. The front door opened to welcome some nouns who were doing a pilgrimage. Those women, draped in their long and large white embroidered with blue yarn dresses, looked at them, taken aback of being shouted out like that.

"Please, Mother, asked Jane with a soft panted voice, please, let us see Violette! We are worried for her, we would like to pray for her soul, please."

The old noun looked down at them. If she knew Jane as she worked for the Church, it was not the case for Chocolat as she was not really regular at the Masses, and therefore, the woman couldn't recognize her. She gave them a disdainful air. "I am sorry, but your friend is a Soiled now. She belongs to the Church."

Chocolat could feel a wave of anger roaming through her veins. She clenched her hands into her fists furiously. Once again it was the victim who was blamed and not that damn Desian. Violette was the one who was then locked in this convent which was now a holy prison. Lost in her thoughts, Chocolat didn't notice that the superior noun had already left and went into the church. The only person left – beside the two friends, was another noun, much younger. She gave them a soft look. She wanted to choose her words carefully as she had noticed the glaring look Chocolat had given her.

"Violette doesn't have any place to go, now, except here. Here is a safe place for her. It's her home, now as she doesn't have her place in the lay society in which a woman keeps her purity, then is married and has children… The only independent women are widows as they have already fulfilled her duties by giving the Goddess sons and daughters." She stopped a few moments in order to let the brunette enough time to accept the situation.

Nevertheless, Chocolat who had become silent for a while, the head lowered to hide her tears, suddenly looked up and screamed. "It's a liar! You're wrong! Violette's place is among us! She's a part of our group!"

"Then why did anyone take her defense and propose to welcome her at home? Why are you the only ones who are concerned about her fate? I'm going to tell you why, it's because Violette is a taboo for the society. A woman abused by a Desian has no place left, no place but here."

"It's unfair! So unfair!"

"But the entire world is unfair. You, who runs a shop in the main avenue of the city, what do you know about the hunger of the children from the dough area whom I feed? You, who was loved by her family since you were born, what do you know about the pain of the newborn who had been abandoned on a pile of garbage in the port? The world is unfair, life is unfair, Chocolat, and the only thing you can do is to wait for your soul to find peace and salvation."

The noun left and went inside the church, closing the open doors behind her. Jane came closer to Chocolat and started to hug her, searching for a way to comfort her. The brunette remained silent, trying to hold her tears back. She gasped and shivered.

"Let's go home, Chocolat." Said Jane as she took her hand gently.

She nodded and followed her friend silently. Suddenly, she turned back and looked again at the church, fixing the door. She would have given everything and anything to smash that damn door, to run inside this prison and to finally escape with Violette. This sacred place really was a prison in which the roles were reversed as it was the victim who had to hide herself spending her entire life like that. She frowned. Her nails entered her palms, injuring her.

 _Survive, that was the only thing that matters_


	5. Second Thoughts

Hi everyone!

I hope that all of you are fine! Sadly, my holidays are over as tomorrow, I begin my internship and (worst of all) I have my master 1 results! UURG! Moreover, my candidature for a master 2 had been accepted and therefore, I have to take an interview on Monday! I'm both really happy and really scared! Haha.

This chapter is a bit special. Previously, I used to translate from French to English. This one is the first one to be written directly in English. Please, tell me what you think of it as it was a huge gap to do so.

Finally, my dear Magnius is appearing! I have always thought that there was something wrong about Magnius believing that Colette had been rejected by Cruxis. He may be not as smart as Kvar or Rodyle (obviously) I can't see him as being REALLY idiot. And moreover, when he dies, he says that he must inform Forcystus of the manipulation of Rodyle meaning that Forcystus also believed it. But, Forcystus, as he is in charge of Iselia, knows that Colette left and was accepted by the Light of the Oracle… I must add something else! I wanted to depict some relationships between Magnius, Forcystus and Pronyma. As you can fight the three of them at Niflheim, I have always seen that as a clue of their connection. Even though Magnius wants to replace Pronyma, I believe that they could all work together. I think that the two who really are ruled out are Kvar and Rodyle – especially because their souls aren't among the other Cardinals'ones.

And I almost forget! Yuan is appearing too! Oh Yuan, my Yuan! If I don't like Kratos, I surely love Yuan! I've always wondered if he had a moustache or not…

A last thing: the story of the Chosen named Nova is canon as she is mentioned into the books in the Tower of Mana.

Plein de bisous!

O.O.O.O

« Is the Chosen of Mana among you?"

The group of travelers looked up and saw that the one who asked that question was a brown-headed woman dressed as if she was a circus' member. The infant was surprised by her big pink bow. She looked like a little fairy with that outfit!

"Of course not!"

They didn't give her anymore interest and pursue their travel through the mountains. As they walked away, the woman sighed on the cliff. She gave a kick in a little stone. If only she had a real plan…

"Sheena, don't worry! Everything is going to be fine!"

Her brown eyes paused on the little spirit which just appeared before her, eating some grass near to her. The woman patted it. "Corrine, if I fail, everyone will suffer…" The little animal licked her hand kindly, wanting to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Sheena. If they have chosen you for that mission, they must be aware of your skills. The village, the King, they all believe in you… Even that stupid Chosen."

O.O.O.O

The sun was warming the quiet room up despite the heavy drapes of red velvet in front the large windows. A person was still sleeping in the great four-poster bed of the bedroom. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door before coming in. The servant could smell the scent of the room, a mix of sweat, of cologne and of roses – as there were several bouquets decorating the piece. The butler finally, posed the golden tray on the bed, went to the window in order to open them and to let the sun entering in. Then, he remained near the bed, waiting for his master to wake up.

A few moments after, the red-haired twenty-two-year-old man opened up his big blue eyes and yawned loudly. He stood back a little and took a croissant full of cream and butter.

"Did you enjoy your evening, Master Zelos?" the brown-haired butler asked with a soft voice.

Zelos nodded while eating his breakfast with appetite. Honoring women all nights was a very exhausting activity! He yawned even more. "My poor honeys, they were all sad when I had to leave… But they must understand that I have plenty of women who are in need of my precious love."

After eating, he went to the bathroom where two servants were waiting for him. He entered into the magnificent bathtub made of marble. Then, the domestics filled it with several jars of hot water and started to clean his back with a white washcloth. The man was not paying any attention to them or to their movements. The only thing that he had in mind was the body of those beauties he had spent his night with. They were all different. Some were really thin, others were chubby, but all of them were beautiful.

As his blue eyes were fixing the surface of the water, he sighed, thinking of _her_. As she was a bit clumsy, he sincerely hopped that those barbarians wouldn't make a short work of her. He could easily remember her, falling into the corridors of the castle as she was anxious about meeting His Highness. She was so embarrassed that she had blushed violently, making the young nobleman laugh. It was not the first time that he had seen her as she usually came to Meltokio as a representative of Mizuho and he even had learnt that she was the equivalent of a Princess there, as she was the heiress of this hidden population's chief. His smile vanished slowly. She had been sent to Sylvarant as a proof of Mizuho's alliance with the Crown. The Pope himself thought that it was a brilliant idea to send their Princess to kill the other Chosen one. He frowned. He was perfectly aware that the head of the Church of Martel didn't like him and didn't think that he could make a great Chosen which convinced him that the Renegades were right about assassinating Sylvarant's Chosen. However, Zelos didn't know what motived him to choose Sheena to execute their plan. Why not using a Royal knight as they were already trained for hard missions as they were the Crown's protectors? Why using a nineteen-year-old ninja? Why not using the Papal Knights as there was also a Church of Martel in Sylvarant, they could have infiltrated it easily and killed the Chosen discreetly? Was it possible that maybe, the Pope had something in mind that already occupied the Papal Knights? To be honest, the red-haired man never liked the fact that the Pope had his own militia as it was a threat to the King's power. He stopped thinking when his butler – Sebastian, knotted on the door of the bathroom. The servants didn't stop working with his hair as the Lord allowed him to enter.

The brown haired butler stood in front of the bathtub, waiting patiently to be allowed to speak. "You have to hurry, Master Zelos, there is a brunch at Lord Laclos'mansion."

Zelos blinked a few seconds and then, a happy, aloof smile appeared on his handsome face. "Don't worry, Sebastian! I won't forget as my honeys are expecting me to be there!"

O.O.O.O

Lloyd could feel his head hurting. As they were going closer to Triet, the heat became more and more unbearable and impacted their body. As Genis was unable to walk since a few miles, the little boy was carried by the poor Noishe. The oldest walked close to the animal in order to make sure that everything was fine with his friend.

"Damn! Why is this place so hot?!"

The little Elf turned his head in Lloyd's direction "It's because of Efreet's influence. Near the seal, the heat is going to be hard to tolerate…"

"Damn! Who would ever build a town in that desert! How do they do to live here?!"

Genis sighed "Well, Triet is built on an oasis, therefore the weather is milder. And moreover, the people are used to this kind of heat. We are only suffering because we are not accustomed to such conditions."

The youngest lowered his head and fixed the sand on which Noishe was moving. Indeed, Iselia was the nicest place in Sylvarant. Its weather was calm, clement, with some rain but not too much, with some sun but not too much as well. In one word, Iselia was the ideal place to live. It seemed that the Goddess Martel had chosen very carefully the place where the Chosen would grow up for sixteen years. He could feel a knot into his throat as he thought at how happy he was when he lived there with Raine. The years spent there had been the happiest in his entire life. He remained silent for the rest of the day, only thinking about his past.

When they finally arrived at the gates of the town, the sun had already disappeared, letting place to the moon. Lloyd sighted as he guided Noish to the closest inn. Genis, exhausted by the travel, was asleep, his face being against the neck of the dog. As they walked, the teenage boy gave a look around him. Triet was an amazing place! Even though it was dark, he could see that the houses were made of stones and sand. Walking in this town at night with a soft breeze was almost nice after all that nightmare. Since they entered into the Desert, they had suffered so much from the heat and the sun. Finally, the swordsman found the wished inn which even had a place to keep Noishe safe. When he had installed the animal into the stable, Lloyd took the sleepy Genis in his arms and went into the building in order to take a small room.

As he laid down his friend in a bed, Lloyd thought about Colette and the place she should be now. He was perfectly aware that he would spend the entire following day to search some hints of where the group could be. Maybe someone had seen them. Maybe they were in the same inn, but as Genis and him arrived during the night, he had no way to find out before tomorrow.

O.O.O.O

"Is that Lloyd?"

The blond teenage girl blinked several times before the wanted notice. It was quite similar to her friend but she was not totally sure of that. The professor screwed up her eyes to analyze it closely. "I think it's him…" As his senses were sharper due to his Angel condition, Kratos didn't have to do any effort to recognize the young man and did nothing but nod, confirming to the two girls that Lloyd really was the one drawn on this wanted notice.

"Gosh, he is so stupid!" stated the silver-haired woman with a desperate look.

"What did he do?" asked the blond one with an ingénue voice.

"Remember the House of Salvation? I've heard some workers in the kitchen saying that someone attacked Forystus'Ranch making the Cardinal to fight back… I'm pretty sure that the responsible is Lloyd…" Kratos answered and then, remained silent. How stupid was that kid to act like this! Why did he do that? Teasing Forcystus… The mercenary passed his hand over his face.

"What should we do? He must be in danger!" Colette said. Even though she knew that Lloyd was a skilled warrior, she wasn't sure that he could fight against the entire Desian army. She was the only one able to defeat them, not him… Would he be protected by the Goddess and the Angels as much as she was?

"Colette, we don't even know where he is!" Raine responded, trying to reason her. "I suggest we follow Kratos'idea and find that clairvoyant, maybe she will have some clues" she added. The blond girl nodded, knowing that the Professor surely was right.

O.O.O.O

As soon as he woke up, Lloyd ran to the office to obtain some information about the Chosen's group but, when he tried to speak to the owner of the inn, he remained silent, barely acknowledging him.

"I don't know why but he doesn't respond to me!" the brown-haired man complained to the youngest one when he arrived into the entering hall.

"Yes and I think I know why" the little boy answered with a calm voice.

"Why?!"

"Because of that!" Genis gave him a flying wanted notice. "They don't want to get in troubles with the Desians by helping you. If they won't denounce you, they don't want to have many contacts with you either."

The swordsman nodded "I understand… Let's find Colette!"

Genis raised an eyebrow and shacked his head, whispering "I thought we were looking after Colette to protect her… It seems that she is the one who protects us…"

O.O.O.O

Colette remained silent for the rest of the day after seeing that medium. She walked slowly, fixing the sand on the ground, lost in her thoughts. Triet Ruins… The Old Triet… She felt a knot into her throat.

"Are you okay, Colette?"

The blond girl stopped and looked up to Raine who was patting her shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine…" she answered with a soft voice. The professor frowned but didn't insist even though she was perfectly aware that Colette was hiding something. Watching the scene from behind, Kratos didn't feel the need to interfere into the discussion as his mind was already busy with the souvenir of an old dear friend.

Suddenly, Raine didn't move anymore and blinked several times. A small shadow was coming closer and closer.

"Raine! Raine!"

A short time after, her little brother – who she had left at Iselia, was here, standing before them. "I'm so happy to finally find you, sis! You don't imagine what happened to Lloyd and me! Lloyd helped Marble and Forcystus decided to attack the town and after that, we have been exiled and after we surv…"

He couldn't finish his sentence as Raine slapped him with any warning. "Don't think it's over, Genis!" she added with a calm but furious voice. The other companions didn't move a finger to help the youngest as he was literary been crushed to the ground by his sister.

"Don't worry! He'll be fine!"

O.O.O.O

The swordsman woke up in a cell without his weapons. If at first he didn't remember anything of what happened, he slowly recovered his mind. Someone attacked him from behind and he couldn't defend himself. He sat down on the bed, worrying about Genis. What did they do to him? Did them leave him alone? Well, he wouldn't find out anything if he stayed here. A few moments later, he heard a guard saying that he would probably be executed.

He passed a hand in his hair. The only thing left was that ring he had found in the Temple of Martel. Suddenly, he jumped on his feet and made some noise in order to attract the guard right before the bars and finally, managed to make it working! As the guard laid down on the floor, he caught his arm and pulled him closer. When he was close enough, Lloyd managed to catch the keys which were attached on the Desian's belt.

"Niark!" the young man smirked, thinking that his plan was absolutely perfect!

A few minutes later, he was out of prison thanks to his plan! If only the professor had seen that! She would have finally recognized that his cleverness was great! And a few moments after, he found his swords, thanks to his ingenious plan!

O.O.O.O

"At first, I was doubtful after reading Pronyma's report. I didn't really believe that Kratos'son was actually alive. The only reason he came back to Cruxis after what happened was because he was convinced that both his son and his wife dead. Even Mithos is perfectly aware of that... So, you can imagine how surprised I was when I learnt that maybe Lloyd was alive."

The blue-haired Angel turned back to his right-hand man. "If the prisoner is really Lloyd, we could get both the Angelus project Exsphere and a way to blackmail Kratos to force him to release Origin."

"Are you really going to use Kratos'son to blackmail him?"

Yuan looked to Botta a few moments silently, forcing him to explain himself. "I mean; you can't deny that Kratos is your ally since the Ancient War. Even when you had the opportunity to kill him when he returned to Cruxis, you couldn't. Are you really sure that you would manage to use his own son against him?"

The Angel nodded. "I couldn't kill Kratos at this moment because… I realized that he was already dead inside… I admit, I was weak… But now, since he has learnt that his son is alive, that he has met him, we can assume that Kratos is no longer dead… That the real Kratos is going to emerge… And therefore, we are going to use that."

"What make you think that he will accept your blackmail? Maybe he will let Lloyd die instead of Yggdrasill's wish…" Botta asked with a calm voice. The Half-Elf needed some explanations from his superior and was ready to interrogate him as long as necessary. Using an innocent child wasn't delighting him and therefore, he wanted to be sure that they had no other choice. His concern could appear odd as he was ready to kill the Chosen One but, in his mind, she was doomed since her birth and her death was the main guarantee that Martel wouldn't resurrected.

Yuan turned to the marble desk and posed his hands on it, fixing his lieutenant. "It's a risk… When he returned he was so devastated that he was absolutely convinced that his son was dead… He didn't even bother continuing to search him… No man alive would act like that… He didn't even ask to see Kvar's head on a pike. That's why I think there is a risk that Kratos wouldn't care of losing his son, that he wouldn't stand against Yggdrasill's will and would let him die."

Botta nodded and, with his right hand scratched his beard. "So maybe we could wait for them to create a strong bound? So Kratos' real personality would emerge easier?"

"We could! But with Kratos'bad temper, they would never be close! I can say that it was easier to convince the Kings of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant to end the War than bounding with Kratos!" The Angel had said these sentences with an amused smirk on his face, being perfectly aware that he was right about his old ally's nature. "So, I think that we take advantage of the situation! If Lloyd is our prisoner right now, we should secure him and bring him to our base in Tethe'alla!"

The brown-haired Half-Elf nodded once again. "Yes, Lord Yuan!" After saluting his superior, Botta left the office and went out in the corridors, far away from being aware that their prisoner was now free to run everywhere in the base.

O.O.O.O

"That's why Lloyd and I have been exiled from Iselia…" The young boy was sitting on the ground, fixing his feet and playing with the sand.

"I hope you understand that what you have done is really, really grave! Many people – we knew, died because of your actions…" Raine was speaking with a serious tone. She was standing, arms crossed against her breast, glaring at her brother. Colette and Kratos remained silent as they felt that they had no right to blame Genis even more.

"So they have taken Lloyd?" Raine finally asked. Genis looked up to his sister and nodded silently. "It's not a surprise due to all the wanted notices… According to what Forcystus said, I guess that they are looking for his Exsphere." The professor gulped, stayed silent and then, started to walk in the Desian base's direction. "I'm going there to rescue my pupil, as his professor, I must make sure that he is fine."

Genis rose and sniffed loudly. Colette joined her professor and smiled. "Even if he hadn't been exiled from Iselia, I'm pretty sure that Lloyd would have done everything to follow us! It's my fault, I should have explained him more carefully…" Kratos blinked a while and then, nodded. If the Chosen decided to rescue him, he must follow her orders.

While they were going to the base, Colette smiled. Oddly, thinking that Lloyd was close to her, made her heart beating more softly as if his presence had a soothing effect on her. With him by her side, the Triet Ruins, the Seal of Fire appeared to be less scary. " _Thanks, Lloyd_ " she whispered.

O.O.O.O

Lloyd was still running everywhere in the base, activating every buttons he could, drying up at every complex mechanism which opened some doors. He couldn't understand why Desians felt the need to put some odd machinery in order to secure their base like, did they need to resolve all those riddles before going somewhere in that damn base?!

Somehow he managed to get through all those stupid brain-teasers (pressing every buttons, moving the levers in every way possible really was a good technic). As he was getting closer to the exit – well, he wished he was getting closer as he didn't have any clue of where he was going in the base, Lloyd could feel some butterflies in his stomach. He must get out rapidly, he must rejoin Genis and find Colette and more than everything, he must be sure that no-one of those filthy Desians put his hands on his Exsphere.

Finally, he turned at one corner and entered into a random room. This place seemed to be an office with its large marble desk in its center. His brown eyes gave a quick look. They were amazed by the luxury of the room with its several columns, with its heavy purple velvet drapes, with its amazingly big painting on the wall behind the desk which represented a tall man with blue hair dressed with a military uniform and a black cape. Lloyd blinked several times but didn't make any comments as he could hear some guards running behind the door.

"That was close!" he breathed out. As he was trying to figure out what to do, he didn't hear another door, being open. He didn't notice that a man was right behind him.

"Who the hell are you?"

Lloyd jumped and turned back. He faced the newcomer who seemed to be the same man as the one on the painting. He raised an eyebrow – how big the ego of this man was to make him put a huge portrait of himself in his own office? Realizing that he was going to attack, the brown teenage boy put his arms in front of his face. Surprisingly, the blue-haired man stopped his spell and scrutinized his face with an interested look.

"What?"

"So you're Lloyd!"

Hearing his name from the mouth of that high-ranked Desian was like an insult to him – as if this Half-Elf had the power to soil his name. "Give me your name and I'll give you mine!" he responded quickly with an insolent smirk on his lips. He would never lose face before a Desian, never!

The Desian didn't look amused by his respond as he called him "insolent." However, he didn't fight back but made a step in the young man's direction. When he was really close to him, he looked at him carefully. "I see the resemblance…"

"With whom? With my mom you murdered?" wanted to reply Lloyd but didn't have the time as another Desian came into the room with several subordinates. "The Chosen's group is here, my Lord!" At that moment, everything went quickly as the Lord left almost immediately, as the lieutenant and his guards approached the swordsman and as Colette, Genis, the professor and the other-one burst in the room.

"We are here, Lloyd!" screamed the blond girl as she threw her chakrams in order to make the Desians step backward. At the same time, Genis started casting an ice spell and Kratos ran over the Desian leader.

"Guys!"

He could feel his heart beating in his torso. Seeing that his friends – and Kratos, came to rescue him into a Desian center, warmed his heart. He was so glad that he almost forgot that he was in the middle of a battle but the scream of Genis forced him to find his mind back. Therefore, with his two swords, he managed to disarm one of the guards and to block a fire attack provoked by the superior. Then, the mercenary attacked the Half-Elf from behind and gave him a great hit in the back which made him fall. As he was still recovering his mind, the Group managed to get out the office and started running in the corridors, looking for the exit which was a bit easier as Genis mostly remembered the way.

O.O.O.O

Magnius looked at the report of his scientist without any motivation. As he wasn't really the type of guy who was fan of science, those papers full of scientist notions didn't praise him, even though he was perfectly aware of the role of experimentation among the Desian organization. Therefore, after reading a few pages only, he put it back on his amazingly large and imposing desk – probably the largest and the more imposing desk ever made. He sat down in his armchair for a while, undoing his ponytail, letting his red hair falling on his shoulders. As he had been raised in Meltokio's ghetto, he didn't get any education but reading, writing and calculating. Would he have wished to learn other things? He didn't really know. Sometimes, of course, he wished to understand perfectly everything that his scientists were working on, but he convinced himself that his scientists wished to have a small part of his strength. After all, he was the Unburnt. He had a special bound with fire, so special that no scientist could explain it.

A few minutes later, a Desian general knot on the door of his office before coming in.

"We have received Palmacosta's contribution, my Lord. However, it seems that Door is paying us less and less."

Magnius raised an eyebrow, a crooked grin appeared on his lips. "I guess we must come down hard on him and his monstrous wife" he giggled. "Any news except that?"

The soldier nodded, gave him an envelope which he opened up immediately. "That's from Pronyma…" he stated after seeing the signature. "She warns me that the Chosen one has been recognized by Cruxis… She's very suspicious towards Rodyle and Kvar…" Magnius remained silent as long as he was reading. He must say that he agreed with her about the two other Cardinals… They both told him that the Chosen had been dropped by Cruxis. However, that version didn't match with Forcystus and Pronyma's one. And as Pronyma had more links with Lord Yggdrasill and as Forcystus had assisted to the Light of Oracle and the departure of the Chosen with Lord Aurion, Magnius tended to be more convinced by their words rather than Kvar's and Rodyle's ones.

Magnius shrugged and sighed. "I'll be informed when the Chosen breaks the first Seal and when she leaves the Southern continent. When she arrives, we would have to be a bit calmer – as we don't want her to be harmed" he added with a smirk.

"My Lord" the lieutenant started after a few moments of hesitation "one patrol has found that…" He couldn't finish his sentence and only put on his Lord's desk some crinkled yellowish paper pages. Magnius frowed and caught them in a strong hand. "What the hell…?" he gave a look that odd booklet. "What's _that_?" he finally asked after having read a few words.

"Well" the Desian cleared his throat " _That_ is a booklet of pamphlets, making fun of… of us… and especially of… well…" He started quavering which was getting on his Cardinal's nerves. Seeing the red-haired annoyed, his subordinate just pointed on one of the pages, a drawing. Magnius opened wide his eyes, he caught that paper and looked at it very carefully. "It's Rodyle, right?!" Magnius couldn't but laugh at the caricature of the four-eyes. However, he stopped as soon as he noticed all the other ones.

"So those vermin decided to tease us…" he mumbled angrily. "Where did you find that?"

"Behind at _Marble's_ , in a small street. It seems that a lot of people are reading that booklet… They even gave it a ridiculous name…"

"They gave it a name?" repeated Magnius incredulous before the insolence of this population.

" _Valmy_."

The Cardinal paused for a moment, trying to keep calm and to figure out what to do. As the Chosen wasn't in the era yet, he could totally devastate that town, making those vermin suffer like they had never suffered.

O.O.O.O

Everything was calm since the night had fallen upon the oasis. There was no noise into the inn but in the small rooms that the Chosen's group was occupying. The Sages were together, as Lloyd and Kratos who shared a room. Only Colette had a room by her own. Even though she felt a bit guilty to impose this situation to Lloyd as she knew that her friend wasn't a great fan of the mercenary, the blond girl admitted that being alone for tonight was a nice perspective. As she laid down in her bed, she fixed the roof with anxiety. Tomorrow they would go to the Ruins… A knot appeared into her throat and her breath became heavy due to her stress.

"What will happen if I fail? What will happen if I displease Cruxis?" she murmured for herself as her big blue eyes became wet. She rolled against the wall, putting her kneels against her breast.

 _"_ _I don't want to provoke the wrath of God upon all of you…"_

O.O.O.O

Lloyd knot on the door of Raine and Genis'room and entered into when the professor allowed him to. He smiled when he noticed that his friend was already asleep. "It's true that Genis still a twelve-year-old boy" he whispered while fixing him resting peacefully.

Raine – who was sitting at a wooden desk near a window, nodded at his statement. "Yes, despite his maturity and his smartness, he is a young a boy… Even me, sometimes, I forget how old he really is…" He nodded and after having watching his friend sleeping, he walked towards her, asking her what she was doing.

"I'm doing some researches about the monsters we fought since the beginning of our journey. The more information we get, the more prepare to face them we are" she paused and then added, looking at him with amused eyes "That could be your homework, Lloyd! To collect and analyze information about those monsters and our enemies!"

He gave her the most unamused and skeptical look ever. As he started to refuse that mission, he could see a grim passing into her eyes and therefore, finally, reluctantly, nodded, accepting his fate.

"Oh, I have another request! Look!"

Lloyd approached her and she gave him a small, reddish sphere. "It's an Exsphere!" he commented with surprised, to what Raine nodded slowly. "I took it this afternoon, in the Desian base. While Kratos was fighting their leader, that fell of his belt and I took it. Kratos told me once that Exspheres were really useful in that kind of journey as they increase their carrier's strength."

The seventeen-year-old boy couldn't do anything but admit that the jerk mercenary was right. He explained his teacher that indeed, he could feel that his Exsphere was helping him during the fights. With it he was able to give greater hits with his blades, he was also able to make amazing jumps and to run faster than without it.

"I can make you a Key Crest, if you want. With it you will be able to use this Exsphere without any risks."

The Professor thanked him and as he left the room, Lloyd felt happier than ever. Knowing that he could something that his teacher needed was really rewarding for him as he had always been at the bottom of the class.

When he went across the hall, he saw that Kratos was leaving their room in order to go outside. Intrigued, the swordsman followed the auburn-haired man who, surprisingly went to the stable to pat Noish. Lloyd was really surprised to see his dog licking Kratos'face with enthusiasm and was maybe a bit jealous of the mercenary. Everyone seemed to admire Kratos'skills – while he was rather good fighter too, Colette seemed to be reassured in his presence – while he was here too, Raine never asked him to do some researches – while he had that stupid homework to do, and now, even Noish seemed to be fan of that jerk! As he was raging alone, he didn't notice that Kratos was now behind him and pat – gently, his shoulder.

"Don't follow me like this ever again if you want to stay alive" he stated with a calm, monotonous voice.

Despite his anger, Lloyd cleared his throat and nodded. "I doubt you would be able to hit me but if you insist…" he said, shrugging showing his carefree attitude.

Kratos kept his cool and breathed slowly at Lloyd's behavior. He had to say that the teenage boy was so hotheaded and had so a bad temper that it almost angered him. Why did he need to tease Forcystus? Why did he have to act so stupidly by protecting that woman in the Cardinal's Human Ranch? Why did he follow them instead of living peacefully in Iselia? Why?! Having Lloyd by his side was the worst thing ever for the mercenary as the teenage boy was a constant reminder of _her_ , was a constant reminder of his sins, was a constant reminder that soon, he would have to leave him alone again.

Kratos sighed as he watched Lloyd going back to the inn. " _Lloyd… Forgive me…"_ he thought.

 _Once upon a time, there was a Chosen One named Nova._

 _She seemed to have a kind heart and a fierce temper._

 _However, before the Fire Seal, instead of freeing Efreet,_

 _The only thing she received was the Wrath of God._

 _Remember, Chosen, the Angels know everything,_

 _Everything in your heart and soul._


	6. Loneliness

Hi!

I hope you are fine! Here, in France, it's summer holiday and therefore, I wanted to use my free time to write. I'm not very happy with this chapter. I don't know why but I can't help thinking that there are much more grammar mistakes than in the others. I really should work on my English grammar but I keep procrastinating!

* * *

The green-haired woman was looking at the prisoners working through the big bay window, waiting patiently for Forcystus to come in. Seeing one of the humans falling, she rolled her violet eyes in disgust. Really, Humans were pathetic. Therefore, it was hard as hell to think that one of her parents actually was a human being as well. How was that even possible? She was a strong Half-Elf soldier, one of the best of Lord Yggdrasill's army, but still, she had some human blood into her veins. She closed her eyes for a while.

Suddenly, the door of the room was opened and someone get in the big office. She turned back only to see the one-eyed Cardinal walking near his desk.

"Why did you come, Pronyma?"

"I've some information for you, Forcystus. I've managed to find out what Rodyle and Kvar were doing!" She could see him rising an eyebrow, knowing that he was waiting for her to continue her explanation. "They try to build a Mana-Cannon."

Forcystus remained silent for a moment, as he was copping with the news. She could see him making faces before sitting down at his desk, waiting nervously for more information. "That… That can't be, Pronyma! You're talking about _Thor's Hammer_! It's a nonsense, no one would do such a thing. It's far too dangerous!"

Pronyma sighed. She was aware that even though Forcystus didn't like neither Rodyle nor Kvar, he wouldn't question their loyalty to Cruxis as they had been appointed by Yggdrasill himself. Therefore, questioning their loyalty meant to call into question Yggdrasill's choices and wisdom. Forcystus looked at his Leader with an anxious eye. "Do you have any proof of that?"

"I have some agents who spy on them and report me everything. Magnius also gave me the blueprint!"

"Magnius is aware of what's happening?"

Pronyma nodded. "Rodyle wanted him to participate in the project. He asked him to find some founds in exchange of the blueprint. Magnius was about to accept before he received my note warning him not to trust Kvar and Rodyle at any cost."

Forcystus passed his only hand on his face. "Thanks Martel, he followed your advice!" He gave her a look and saw her amused smile – revealing that she was thinking the same thing as him about the ginger Cardinal. "What do we do?"

Pronyma remained silent and then, she grinned even more. "Don't worry, we are going to get rid of them! The only thing I need you to do is to not answer Rodyle's expectations, especially regarding transfers of prisoners or shipments of Exspheres. We need as much time as possible."

Forcystus nodded and then sighed "As if we didn't have enough troubles with those damn Renegades!"

The woman turned her head and continue to watch at the prisoners through the bay window as if she didn't want to answer. Actually, she didn't really know what to say. Contrary to her follow Desian, she was well-aware of Rodyle's true nature and didn't have much expectations concerning his loyalty to Cruxis. She cleared her throat. "I also have some interesting news about the Chosen's journey."

The one-eyed Cardinal didn't move nor look at her. Instead he lowered, opened a small hidden compartment of his desk, took one of the drinking glasses and the potion within the compartment, put it down before him and poured the alcoholic beverage in the glass, before finally drinking it.

"You're hiding some glasses and some potion into you own desk, Forcystus?" smirked Pronyma.

"I have to deal a lot of problems here, Pronyma. Sometimes, I really need something to cheer me up."

She shrugged. "She is in Triet, now and soon she'll be at the Seal of Fire. But the most interesting thing is who goes with her! According to my spies, it's Lloyd Irving – Anna Irving and …"

"And Lord Aurion's son" Forcystus added, interrupting her into her speech. "I know. That's why I let him run away when he had defeated F192. I figured out that he would be safe from the Renegades with his father."

"I think you've right… Lord Aurion is very important to Lord Yggdrasill due to him being the Seal of Origin… If the Renegades had succeeded to capture Lloyd, they could have blackmailed Lord Aurion… However, there is a risk that Lord Aurion becomes close to his son and betrays Lord Yggdrasill."

Forcystus looked at his glass of potion. "Once you've killed, you're not the same person you used to be. Kratos Aurion killed his wife Anna Irving and wore mourning of both his wife and his child. He is not a father anymore…" He said those words with a soft voice as if there meant to only be heard by no one but him. Pronyma raised an eyebrow, blinked several times and then nodded. "I'm sure you're right."

O.O.O.O

The battle had been violent according to all the wounds left on their bodies – even Colette had been injured. Only Kratos remained perfectly well – at Lloyd's greatest disappointment! Oh yes, the young man had dreamt to see the mercenary falling, he had dreamt to see him failing an attack but none of those dreams had come true – showing obviously the auburn man's superior skills.

"Don't move" said Kratos with a voice full of indifference while he kneeled down to Lloyd.

The young swordsman raised an eyebrow and reluctantly obeyed him with a mocking grimace on his face. He didn't really know why but Kratos always put him ill-at-ease. Was it because of his skills? Was it because he was so pretentious? Was it because he was the only one who really could protect Colette? The brown haired man didn't the exact answer. He could hear Kratos's voice as he was casting _First Aid_. In a very few moments, he felt some waves of mana going through his body, curing his wounds.

"Thanks!" he finally said when he noticed that all of his injuries had disappeared.

Kratos looked at him as he got up again. He gave him one of his glances that put the younger ill-at-ease. He didn't understand why but Kratos's eyes always bothered him. There was something in his eyes that bothered Lloyd. He made a face while Kratos moved toward Raine to be sure that Genis was all right.

Colette sat near her friend, on the ground of the antic ruins. "Are you okay, Lloyd?" He looked up and gave her a surprised glance. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks, Colette! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect you…"

The blonde girl blinked several times and looked at her right hand. "Don't worry! Raine cured me while Kratos was taking care of you! It was nothing! Barely bloody!" Hearing that, Lloyd lowered his head and looked at the ground with a lot of bitterness. He had sworn to protect her, to make sure that nothing happened to her during her Journey… Since the Trial at Martel's Temple, all the fights had become more and more intense, harder and harder. Those damn creatures were the guardians of the First Seal and he wasn't able to defeat them easily! He gave a quick look to Kratos who was still busy with Raine and Genis. Maybe the mercenary could teach him to become stronger?

"So… So that's the Seal of Fire?" he asked.

Colette nodded. "Yes. Soon, Efreet will awake and the region will be full of mana… But before that, I need to offer my prayers to the Goddess…" Suddenly, she got up and made a few steps in the direction of the reddish altar. Lloyd and the others followed her and finally arrived before it where Colette kneeled down.

Suddenly, after a few moment of silence, a glaring light enlightened the sacred place and some feathers fell of the ceiling. In one word, Remiel appeared. The angel was flying over the altar. With a calm voice, he congratulated Colette, calling her his beloved daughter once again, for her victory over the three monsters of fire. He also added that she was going to receive some sacred gift from the Angels of Cruxis and then, finally, disappeared after pressing the blond girl to go to the another Seal, far across the sea. The most impressive event was when Colette received this "sacred gift" which was a pair of pinkish and purplish and sparkling wings. Colette's very first step into her transformation. The very beginning of their Journey's success! Genis was the most impressed among her friends as he kept asking her to make them appear which she accepted gladly. The only one who didn't seem very interest was Kratos – but he had never really looked interested by anything, had he? He was the first one to leave the altar and the sacred room, guiding everyone out into the ruins. Next to him was Raine who was looking carefully at the ancient town's ruins.

"It's amazing to think this place used to be Triet!" she said while admiring some of the painted walls.

"Well, not that place, Raine. That's an old temple used to venerate Efreet which was here at the time of the Old Triet." Kratos replied with his monotonous voice.

"I guess you're right" she nodded. "It explains all the tools using magic technology we have seen while searching for the altar…"

 _A town destroyed by the Angels because the Chosen couldn't cope with her duties_

Behind them, Colette was walking quite slowly. She didn't know why but she didn't feel well since they had left the altar… Was it because of her transformation? For sure! She couldn't help but feel a knot into her throat. The very beginning of her death just happened. She gave a look to Genis who was cheerfully talking about her wings with Lloyd. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

The sixteen-year-old teenage girl had never felt so lonely.

O.O.O.O

A few Exspheres were shown on the mahogany desk. Someone wearing fine, expensive white and golden clothes, craned his head to look at them closely.

"They are perfect!"

"Of course they are! We work very hard to obtain that result!"

The mustached man smiled and took one of the little marbles in his white gloved hand. "From which ranch do they come from, Vharley?"

"From Lord Rodyle's! As you can see, the Exspheres produced into the Desian Ranches are more powerful than the ones we can extract from the Toize Valley Mine."

"Because they are nourished with human lives, instead of animals."

"Correct, your Holiness! The prisoners work hard into the Ranches to awake them." The Exspheres dealer answered with a big sardonic smile.

"I'll take around a hundred of them!"

Vharley smiled even more. Knowing that one of the richest men of Tethe'alla was his best client was a really happy thought. Thanks to him, the seller was sure to always have someone to pay for his most expensive Exspheres. Indeed, since he had got access to the Mine – thanks to a small blackmail – he became the sole distributor of Exspheres in Tethe'alla. And that was an amazing business as Exspheres were used in a lot of machines as an energy source. Moreover, before obtaining the exclusive access to the Mine, he had discovered that in another world, some Half-Elves were exploiting Humans into Ranches to develop more useful Exspheres. And he knew that those special Exspheres would be very successful among suspect people. Indeed, the Pope was craving them as he wanted to equip his Papal Knights with them to increase their strength. The dealer gave a quick look to his client who was staring at the marbles with voracious eyes. That man was craving power – that was obvious. How could the King be so blind about him?

"I've heard a test subject of ours is very promising."

Vharley nodded. "Indeed. We are close to create a true Cruxis Crystal into a human body."

"When it's removed from its host body, I would like to be its owner. Which is normal, after all, I ordered those research!"

The seller raised an eyebrow but finally nodded. "Of course, your Holiness! I'll tell Lord Rodyle that he will have to wait until another one is prepared."

"Perfect!"

A few minutes later, a Papal Knight entered into the small secrete office with a big wooden box. "Here is a part of your payment! You'll have the complete amount when I receive my Exspheres!" added the holy customer when he was about to leave the room. "I must go; I don't like being out of my castle at night…No one knows what can happen, even in Meltokio! And I've only one Knight to protect me!"

When he had left, Vharley went upstairs to also leave the Elemental Research Laboratory. It was easier for them to meet here when he was in Meltokio as the only ones who could charge them to plot against the Crown would be Half-Elves. And Half-Elves were easy to keep quiet! When he was outside, Vharley could feel the fresh air of the night on his face. He inhaled as he started walking into the direction of the Grand Bridge.

O.O.O.O

It was very late at night when a twenty-five woman and a teenage girl came into the small room of the mansion that was used as a bathroom. The youngest was holding two candles to enlighten the place and the oldest was carrying a fragile little blond boy. She laid him on a towel on the ground and went to the kitchen in order to get some hot water. The teenage girl put the candles in the wooden cabinet and came closer to him. She passed her long fingers on his emaciated cheeks.

"Will he be okay?" asked the teenager to the adult when she came back.

"For now, he's alive."

The ginger woman patted the boy's small and damaged body. She blew on his shoulder to get rid of the dust.

"What's that, Lilly?" asked the blue haired teenage girl pointing at some numbers marked on his right forearm.

"It's his code at the Ranch. All the prisoners are given a number which serves to identify them. They don't have names anymore, just numbers… According to his, our little friend is "RIHR Prisoner M486…"

The girl remained silent a moment as she was staring at the young fugitive. He seemed to be around the same age as many children hidden here. The only difference between him and the other boarders of the Association, was that he was a Human whereas they were Hal-Elves. If she had been aware of what was currently happening into the declining world of Sylvarant, the teenage girl didn't really know how to deal with her feelings towards Humans. Here, in Tethe'alla, they were Half-Elves' persecutors… But there, in Sylvarant, Half-Elves were theirs. She could feel a knot into her throat.

"Something's wrong, Pronyma?"

She blinked several times and cleared her throat. "When I first heard about the Desians in Sylvarant, I was happy… I thought that Humans deserve what happens to them… That's why I had considered _that woman's_ offer to enroll into Cruxis'ranks. But…"

"But?"

"When I've met you, you and the other members of the Association, I was convinced that no all Humans were horrible people and that I didn't want you to get hurt… I still believed that the majority of Humans deserved to be punished by horrible means… And now… now I feel awful because … because this boy isn't older than Tia or Alice… He is younger than me… I don't think he deserved anything of what happened to him in the Ranch…" Pronyma stopped. She breathed deeply as she looked at him. Finally, she looked up at Lilly and asked with a small voice. "Am I a bad person?"

The woman sighed as she shook her head before cleaning up her glasses with a small piece of a towel. "It's the contrary, Pronyma. You're a good person. And that's why you refused to join the Cruxis when she offered you to become one of her assistants. You're very powerful, you could have become an important person into the Desian administration. You only are fifteen and you already are a lot wiser than many people, Pronyma. I'm proud of you."

The teenage girl blinked and smiled. "Thanks!" She got up and went to the door. "I'm sorry, Lilly, but I'm really tired… I'm going to sleep."

Lilly smirked "Don't make me laugh, you're going to practice your spells under your sheets." As Pronyma turned over to face her, the ginger woman added "I've seen the book you're reading late at night. It's a very unusual book, written in ancient language, with very powerful mana spells… I think I know who gave it to you."

"I'm sorry, I lied to you, Lilly. But soon enough, I'll be able to cast amazing healing spells! It'll be very helpful for us!"

"No need to justify nor to apologize, I'm not mad at you, not at all. I just want you to be careful with Lord Yuan… We don't know yet what he really wants from us. So, be careful."

Pronyma nodded and smiled as she left the room leaving Lilly and the sleeping boy alone. The twenty-five-year-old woman sighed before having a faint smile on her lips. "My poor little one", she whispered to the fugitive, "don't worry you're safe here…" As she tried to put him an old blue pajama, she couldn't help but pray that Alex and Ren's good action wouldn't lead the Grand Cardinal Rodyle to them.

O.O.O.O

It was early in the morning when Lord Rodyle entered into his office in the heart of his ranch. He really enjoyed making a little walk in the corridors of the ranch when the sun just came up as it always reminded him that the following day would be full of experimentations and scientist operations.

He sat at his desk and then, noticed that the Exspheres dealer wanted to speak to him thought hologram. He rolled his piercing eyes and pressed a button. He cleared his throat when he saw Vharley's silhouette.

"Good morning, Lord Rodyle!"

"Vharley! What a pleasure! What can I do for you?" His creepy voice tried to take a likeable tone as a monstrous crooked smile appeared on his lips.

"The Pope of Tethe'alla has paid the entire amount of Gald! You can send the rest of the order!"

"Wonderful!"

The Half-Elf squinted his beady eyes behind his dark orange rounded pince-nez glasses. He had been sure that the Pope's greed and thirst for power would make him a good tool. Indeed, as Magnius refused to give him some founds, he needed more money to end the Mana Cannon's construction. He knew that the Pope couldn't refuse this offer and was ready to pay more than what was needed to obtain many Exspheres. The Cardinal was aware that despite knowing perfectly how they were made, those Exspheres were exactly what he was looking for. The ones made with animals were good enough for machines but certainly not to reinforce Human physical strength. When he had learnt the truth about the Exspheres made into Human Ranches, the holy man just shrugged and said that "Martel has a plan for everyone." Humans were interesting creatures! Rodyle used to believe that no Human would buy such Exspheres made with the life of his fellows! But when he met this Pope, he understood that he was totally wrong and that to reach his goals, Humans were ready to do anything – exactly like him! Well, the Cardinal should not have been surprised by the Pope's behavior – after all, he was the one who reinforced racist laws against Half-Elves only because of his daughter issues! Rodyle had a tamed laugh.

"He also would like to be the first owner of our Cruxis Crystal when we get rid of Presea…"

The Cardinal stopped laughing, being shocked by the sentence Vharley just said. He blinked several times. "Well, of course! And I definitely should give more food to the prisoners!" he said with a rictus. "Humans can be disgusting, ungrateful pathetic creatures!"

"Be careful with your words, my Lord. I'm a Human and you need me to do business in Tethe'alla." Rodyle gave him a horrible, bad look. "If that pleases him to think he will have it, fine. However, he would need to pay an extra as I won't have its property!"

The Exsphere broker smiled and nodded, knowing that his commission would increase consequently. "Of course, my Lord."

After a few more of what seemed to be jibber jabber to him, Rodyle finally ended the conversation and continue his research. However, in spite of his motivation and preparation, he couldn't really get into his papers. He couldn't but help thinking of his filthy, repulsive mustachioed Human with his Cruxis Crystal. He rolled his eyes. No! He had worked too much on this project to let it go to another! He wouldn't be like Kvar, never! He sighed at the name of the other Cardinal. What happened to him really was a shame! All that work screwed up because of a stupid Seraph! Fortunately, soon enough there wouldn't be any Seraph anymore! No more Cruxis, no more stupid rules! There would be no-one but him. The purple-haired man smiled while he was making some notes on his blueprints. However, much too soon, the Human with a mustache came back into his mind. He frowned. No, he wouldn't have the Cruxis Crystal, his Cruxis Crystal.

This Pope of Tethe'alla really was going to die.

O.O.O.O

Everything began like an ordinary day in Palmacosta. The boats arrived into the port, the sailors unloading their shipments full of fishes and of several clothes coming from all over the world. As soon as the sun was shining, all the merchants were preparing their stands on which their fruits, vegetables or any other goods were displayed. Visiting the market was an ordinary thing to do for the inhabitants 'families. The grannies were giving some piece of advice to their daughter or to their daughters-in-law about how to make a good meal and the younger women used to nod, being thankful for their advice. In the meantime, the children usually ran all over their way, screaming and playing joyfully with each other.

While she was doing her shopping for the shop, Chocolat saw one of those typical family and felt a knot into her throat. She used to be like them once. She used to go with her Mom and her Grandma in this market, looking for some marvelous fruits and fishes. She used to laugh with all the other kids here – the butcher's kid, the baker's one… Those happy memories hurt her pretty badly. Nowadays, they were mostly all gone – no more baker's son, no more butcher's son, no more Mom and no more Grandma, just Chocolat. She stood there, before a fruit seller's stand. She wasn't fixing at the bananas, the apples or the pears, no. Her brown eyes seemed to be absent, as they seemed to only look at something that didn't exist anymore. She only regained her senses when someone jostled her. She politely presented her excuses and left, her basket being full with everything that was needed

Chocolat was walking back to her shop when she heard someone's steps behind her. She turned and smiled when she recognized Riss who was running after her for quite a time.

"You really suck at physical exercise; you know that?" she smirked when the young man finally reached her. He clearly was breathless and tried desperately to grab some air.

"Laugh, laugh, Chocolat! If you were in my shoes, you won't be laughing!" he replied with a sharp tone. The girl smiled again and gave him a soft look which calmed down the man who started laughing. "I'm sorry, Chocolat, I shouldn't have reacted so brusquely!"

"Is everything all right?" she asked with a worried face.

The young man looked surprised for a moment before regaining his senses. He put his glasses back on his nose and passed his hand into his brown hair. "Well, I'm a bit concerned about something but nothing really important, don't worry."

Chocolat frowned. She didn't like his tone. It seemed as if he was trying to hide something. However, she didn't do anything to compel him. Maybe she was too afraid of the truth and didn't do everything in her power to know it. Therefore, she simply smiled at him. "Would you like to come for a drink? I've finished my shopping."

Riss nodded happily. "Yes, sure! Can I help you with your purchases?" Chocolat shook her head. "No, don't worry. It's okay." She replied before starting to walk again with the boy by her side. All the way to "Marble's" they talked and laughed openly – telling each other every gossip, every funny anecdote about their group of friends, relatives or acquaintances. When they arrived at the shop, they went upstairs where the family used to live. Chocolat told him to sit at a wooden table into a corner while she was looking for a bottle of Palmacosta Potion. Whenever she found it, she poured the purple liquid into two glasses and sat down with her friend. They continued their chit-chat.

"Any news of Violette?"

Riss shook her head. "Of course not… Sometimes, Jane gives me some news but a very few... Basically, I just know that she isn't pregnant and that she does the laundry for the priests…" He remained silent and then, added "Poor thing, spending all your life at the service of the Church without being paid nor freedom…"

"And everything happened because of that filthy Desian…"

She closed her fist firmly due to the anger she was feeling right now as Riss mentioned the event. Her heart was beating rapidly and a knot appeared into her throat. She was craving vengeance.

"Chocolat, the only thing we can do is to resist, is to fight them until the very end."

The young woman blinked. To fight back, to pay them back for all their sufferings. Chocolat had thought several times about enlisting into Dorr's militia but the Governor-General didn't allow women into its ranks. He justified this policy by saying that they were too precious to fight and die on the field. She sighed but imagined that losing his wife because of the Desians made him that way.

"Maybe you could join us? You could draw some caricature or write some texts! We are always looking for new recruit!"

"That's nice! But I must decline your offer. I think I'll continue this way." She answered with a smile. "I'll continue to give them potions and gels for free!"

"And you'll continue to scam the Desians!" Riss added with a laugh.

Chocolat laughed too. Seeing him was the best way to forget everything bad. When she was with Riss and her other friends, it was like nothing could ever happen to them as if the Desians were far, far away.

"Imagine the Chosen wins over them and becomes an Angel. We would be so happy; we finally could have a future…"

She gave him an interrogative look. She was both surprised by the fact that Riss spoke about the Chosen and by the fact that he just implied that he didn't believe having a future right now. "Why do you mean? I thought you didn't believe in the Chosen's duty and the Church…"

Riss sighed. "Well, I don't really know. The Tower of Salvation appeared, and it's true that whenever a Chosen reached the Tower of Salvation, the mana came back and the Desians were gone… So maybe, some stuff was real and that there really is a Goddess watching over us…"

Chocolat remained silent and then, softly added. "I don't care if there is a Goddess or not. I also don't think we should use the Desians excuse to not plan our future. We have a future with the Desians or without them. And…" she paused for a while "and I would like you to be a part of mine!"

Riss blinked several times. It was not really common for a girl to make the first step! He wasn't even sure to have perfectly understood what she meant. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Well, I…" Chocolat squinted as she tried to get closer to hear his whispers. Even though she was totally absorbed by his eyes, she wrinkled her nose as if some odd smell was disturbing her. It became more and more realistic. Riss himself stopped talking and sniffed hardly.

"Chocolat… I think something is burning!"

She frowned even more as her eyes looked the fireplace at the floor. No, there was no fire, only ashes into it. So, where did this smell come from? It was the only hearth of the house.

"Chocolat!"

Riss screamed as he saw heavy black smoke coming at the floor by the stairs. Chocolat turned over, grasped his hand and ran at one of the windows. "We must get out of here!" She finally opened it up. The window gave onto the small back alley behind the shop in which there was nothing to end up.

"I think it'll be okay! The worst we could get would be to have something broken! It's not high enough to kill us!" the young woman stated.

"C-Chocolat! You're insane! It-It-s totally possible that we…"

Without letting her friend finish his sentence, the brunette grabbed his arm and jumped. They ended up on the pavement of the lane. If the fall had been violent, they had to admit that they were lucky as they hadn't had break anything.

"We're alive!" stated the young man happily as he tried to get up. "We're alive!"

"Of course we are! We jumped from the first floor! It's not that high!" The young woman was already on her feet and was cleaning the dust on her long reddish dress – which had been ripped by the ground. She also tried to clean up the blood on her legs. "Damn!"

"Don't worry, Jane will clean it and bandage it. We just need to go at my place." He said that while he was searching his glasses on the ground on his hands and bloody knees. He blinked as without them he couldn't see a thing.

"Here, Riss…" She found them near her and put them back on her friend's nose. Unfortunately, the right glass had been fissured.

"Thanks…" he replied softly as he knew that replacing the broken glass would cost some Gald. "I wonder what the hell happened!"

Chocolat made a few steps and frowned as she heard some screams and some deafening sounds. As she became closer to the main street, her heart started beating quickly. After a few moments, she came back to her friend who was still trying to deal with his glasses.

"The Desians! Riss, they're attacking the city!"

Riss remained silent. "I know… I knew they were preparing something…"

His friend frowned. "What do you mean?!"

He sighed. "Did you really think that the Desians would let a town like Palmacosta having a militia without doing anything if this militia really represented a threat?" He paused as Chocolat was watching at him. "Our militia isn't a threat for them… And if there has been no great attack since several months it's likely because Door is giving them money…"

"What?!"

"I told you before that a lot of money disappears regularly… A lot of people think it's spent on the militia but actually, it is given to Magnius… Door buys Palmacosta's tranquility… I guess he didn't give them enough Gald this time." Riss stated simply.

 _It can't be_ , Chocolat thought. It was too hard for her to think that Door kept betraying them since the very beginning of his mandate. She could feel her eyes becoming moister and moister. _It can't be! It can't be!_ Her father himself enrolled in the City Guards and died for the town and the General-Governor. Basically, he died for nothing but a traitor… Tears started pouring on her chubby cheeks. What could she do now? She didn't have anything left. No hope, no future, nothing.

"Chocolat, come! We must hide!"

Riss grabbed her hand and they started running on the shores of the river. They could hear the explosions, the fires, the screams of the inhabitants. When they reached the place of the Cathedral, they saw that the university was into flames. The two friends managed to join a crowd on the forecourt in front of the church. A few seconds later, Chocolat felt the ground trembling. She looked down and suddenly, felt her body burning before being thrown away. As she crashed on the ground, she started to lose consciousness. However, she still could feel an iron fist grabbing her neck violently.

"But that's my little lovely Chocolat."


End file.
